Redmond Father Arrested On Christmas For 'Very Troubling Behavior'

REDMOND, WA - Police discovered a strange situation inside an apartment on Christmas Day after a man pulled a fire alarm.

The Redmond Fire Department responded to an alarm at an apartment building along the 18600 block of Redmond Way around 9 a.m. Once there, they found a 34-year-old man inside an apartment who told the firefighters he had pulled an alarm because he needed help. But the man apparently believed that the firefighters were impostors, so he set off sprinklers inside his own apartment to attract the "real" firefighters, according to a police report.

Because the man was behaving strangely, the firefighters called the police. They discovered that the man had detained his family - including his spouse and four children ranging in age from 2 to 11 - inside the apartment since Dec. 19. The man had a cache of weapons, including an ax, a machete, and a bow and arrow, that he used to prevent his family from leaving the apartment, police said. The man had also been sleeping in front of the door, police said.

The suspect was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence charges, including unlawful imprisonment and felony harassment. Police also made sure the family received assistance to recover from the situation.

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