On Monday, Feb. 15, Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at a home in the 1200 block of Pelia Avenue in the Verde Villages south of Cottonwood city limits around 4 p.m., to serve an arrest warrant.
As they made contact with two females, the male suspect ran into a bathroom, according to Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office Media Relations Coordinator Dwight D’Evelyn.
A gunshot sound soon followed, according to D’Evelyn.
Deputies secured the women away from the home and contacted the YCSO’s SWAT Team due to a lack of response from the suspect, according to YCSO.
Police scanner traffic initially reported the incident as a possible hostage situation. YCSO took command of the scene and called in Cottonwood Police Department officers to assist with traffic control.
Pelia Avenue was shut down between Camino Real to Verde Drive and residents were advised to avoid the area.
More than a dozen deputies from the SWAT unit suited up in body armor, riot shields, assault weapons and a battering ram. The suspect was eventually found by SWAT team members deceased from an apparent gunshot wound, according to D’Evelyn.
The suspect’s name has not been released by press time, pending notification of next of kin. No charges have as yet been filed against the two women, whose names have also not been released.
