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EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — A man accused of shooting at police stations, patrol cars and officers in three Washington cities has been ordered held without bail after a brief court appearance Monday.
Deputy Prosecutor Ed Stemler told an Everett District Court judge that Hans Hansen, 43, of Lake Stevens, has shown a "propensity for violence" that creates a risk of danger to the community, the Daily Herald of Everett reported (http://is.gd/ivwpAc). The prosecutor also cited a statement attributed to Hansen by police, that he had access to as much as 20,000 rounds of ammunition.
Hansen said little but told the court he is trying to hire a private lawyer to represent him.
According to court papers, he told detectives he wanted to be killed and was disappointed in police marksmanship. He cited his failing health and an impending home foreclosure.
He was wounded in the Oct. 15 gunfire and arrested for investigation of multiple counts of assault and drive-by shooting. He has not been charged.
"Your guys aren't very good shots," Hansen told detectives at the hospital where he was treated for a head wound.
Upset at health, financial and personal problems, he armed himself with six rifles, a shotgun and handgun and shot up police stations and cars at Granite Falls and Lakes Stevens before he was wounded in a shootout from his pickup truck with officers in Marysville, police alleged.
One officer, Marysville Sgt. Jim Maple, was struck in the leg by shrapnel and treated at a hospital.
Hansen's head was grazed and bled heavily. He was convinced he was dying so he surrendered, detectives wrote.
Court documents say he explained that his cabinet business had failed and he'd been evicted from a Granite Falls industrial park. He has a vascular disease and one of his legs must be amputated soon. He expects to lose his house in January because he hasn't been able to pay the mortgage. His wife sent him an upsetting text message. He started drinking.
Hansen decided to gather several guns that he owned and go to several locations where police might be "so he could fire at cars and buildings and engage the police in a gunfight and be killed," Snohomish County sheriff's Detective Tedd Betts wrote.
Hansen took two AK-47 rifles, one AR-15 rifle, two .22-caliber rifles, one .300-caliber Winston short magnum rifle, a shotgun and a .40-caliber handgun. He admitted to firing multiple rounds into a building at the industrial park, detectives wrote.
Hansen reloaded and drove to the Granite Falls Police Department and Lake Stevens Police Department, shooting buildings and cars. He was headed to the Marysville Police Department when he spotted a patrol car and police followed him into a final shootout.
From the Marysville Police Department, Hansen had planned to move on to the Navy Support Complex in Marysville. He figured that military personnel would kill him if police were not successful.
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Information from: The Daily Herald, http://www.heraldnet.com
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