Man kills himself as deputies arrive to serve eviction papers at his Richland apartment

A man in a Richland apartment appears to have shot himself as a deputy and police officer tried serving an eviction notice on Tuesday.

The gunshot sent the officers scrambling for cover and forced the evacuation of the complex and nearby Duportail bridge construction site for four hours.

Benton County Coroner Bill Leach said the man died from a single gunshot, and the death was ruled a suicide. No autopsy is planned.

The officers were serving the court papers at the Riverpointe Apartments shortly after 11 a.m.

When they knocked on the door, they heard what sounded like a gunshot inside the unit, said Richland police Capt. Chris Lee.

The apartments are south of the Highway 240 bypass highway, along the Yakima River.

The officers backed off and called for help to surround the complex.

During the four hours that sheriff’s deputies and police officers were staged outside, the Richland Bomb Squad and the Tri-City Regional SWAT team were called in.

Nearby apartments were evacuated as police tried determine if anyone was still alive in the apartment.

Construction work on the bridge over the Yakima River also was halted for safety concerns.

The bomb squad used cameras and a robot to try to cautiously look inside the apartment.

Then, SWAT members went inside, where they found the man’s body.

His name was not immediately released.

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office will investigate the incident.

This story was originally published November 19, 2019 at 11:39 AM.