A family is recovering from a traumatic experience and a suspect is believed dead after a hostage situation shocked the community of Issaquah.
Shortly after 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 15, a 28-year-old male entered a residence on the 5200 block of Isola Place Northwest with a handgun and held a family of four hostage.
The family included children, both 5 and 8 years old.
Before the suspect entered the home, a resident had called the police and reported a suspicious male lurking outside. When officers arrived on scene they were unable to locate anyone outside.
The suspect is reported to be the brother of the home’s resident, and had a felony warrant.
The Issaquah Police Department (IPD) responded by setting up a perimeter around the home. The department also called in the King County Sheriff’s Office TAC30 SWAT Team and the Crisis Negotiation Team.
After about 5 and a half hours of negotiations, an adult and two children were separated from both the suspect and another hostage in a coordinated effort led by SWAT. About 10 hours later, the final hostage inside the building was released. None of the hostages were physically harmed.
Officers reported that there were 16 hours of active negotiations between the agencies and the suspect, Blake Parviar.
“There was a shot fired through the floor when SWAT was in the house,” said Washington State Patrol Trooper Rick Johnson. The shot is believed to be fired from the suspect’s handgun, and no officers were injured.
Parviar was held up in the house for several hours after the final hostage left the building. Reports came in at 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 16 of a fire at the residence, and Eastside Fire and Rescue units were dispatched to the scene. EFR also was protecting other homes in the area, according to IPD Twitter updates.
IPD held a press conference on at about 5 p.m. on Sunday evening where they relayed that the Valley SWAT Team (who came in to relieve the TAC30 SWAT Team) released a gas canister into the residence, taking place hours before the first reported fire. Following the fire, the residence is unsalvageable due to portions of the roof collapsing.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. A dead body — believed to be the suspect — was found within the home.
