A U.S. Army colonel’s refusal to confront the police over allegedly assaulting his wife led to a contentious, two-hour standoff where the veteran threatened to take his own life and shoot the officers.
Owen Ray, 47, was charged on Monday with first-degree kidnapping, two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of felony harassment, and reckless endangerment, according to the News Tribune.
The incident began late Sunday night, and the police arrived at the man’s home in DuPont, Washington, around 12:15 a.m. local time on Monday after his wife called them following an argument. Ray’s wife hid from him in the bedroom of their youngest children and allegedly heard him say, “Let’s do this,” before entering the garage where he stores guns.
Ray is said to have pointed a gun at his wife and “proceeded to kick (his wife) over and over with his boots in the face and chest,” according to prosecutors, who wrote in charging papers that “the two children had woken up and were screaming, ‘Don’t kill mom, don’t shoot us.'”
About 15 minutes after officers arrived, Ray let his wife and two youngest children go outside, followed by his teenage daughter.
Before 1 a.m., officers were able to get Ray on the phone and asked him to come outside to be taken into custody. During his encounter with police, Ray touted his military training and experience.
“He stated that he had killed a lot of people and he had no problem killing law enforcement if they made attempts to arrest him,” records say.
At one point, Ray was holding pistol to his head while standing on the balcony. He was also seen inside his home holding a rifle. Ray was arrested once he came outside.
Multiple firearms were found in a garage safe, and two handguns and a shotgun were found in the master bedroom.
