Questions Unanswered In Standoff -- Man Shot 2 Before Police Killed Him

Seattle Police yesterday released additional details in the incident at the Gideon-Mathews Garden apartment complex, which ended when police fatally shot an armed elderly man. But many questions remain.

Meanwhile, a Seattle Police officer and a repairman for the Seattle Housing Authority were released from Harborview Medical Center yesterday, one day after they were shot by Bodegard Mitchell, 84.

During a news conference, police said several shots were fired from Mitchell's .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver, but would not give the number.

The six-shot revolver was loaded with a type of ammunition known as "shotshell," said Sgt. Terry Augerson, a police weapons expert. Such ammunition contains more than 100 small pellets, which are fired at high velocity, and is commonly used to kill small animals.

Police said many aspects of the incident remain under investigation and cannot be disclosed.

Among the information being withheld is how many shots police fired, what type of weapons police used, and why police decided to approach Mitchell's home and not wait longer to take action.

The incident began about 1:20 p.m. Monday when a Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) staff member, Timothy Coghlin, 40, of Bothell, was shot. He had gone to Mitchell's SHA unit with a work order to repair a fan and vent, said Leslie Demich, SHA public-relations liaison. When he knocked on the door and announced himself, the resident said, "You've got a key, let yourself in," she said.

The employee opened the door, and the resident shot him, Demich said. Coghlin was grazed in the forehead.

According to a police statement, "Officers made numerous attempts to establish contact with the suspect in his residence during the next 5 1/2 hours without success."

Hours into the standoff, "the suspect fired at officers and officers retreated," the statement continued. After police attempted to release a "chemical irritant gas" into the apartment, Mitchell apparently came out of the apartment and fired at officers.

Hit was Officer Brian Kraus, who along with Officer Peter Sicilia, returned fire and hit Mitchell. He died of multiple gunshot wounds.

While SHA records show Mitchell had been a resident at the apartments since 1986, little is known about his early life, except that he was born April 27, 1912, and his closest relatives are believed to be in Bakersfield, Calif.

Public records do show, however, that in 1987 Mitchell was involved in another violent incident.

On April 3, 1987, he was arrested by Seattle Police and later charged with unlawful use of a weapon to intimidate another person, two counts of harassment, and menacing.

Details of the offenses have been purged from Seattle Municipal Court records, but remaining records show he pleaded guilty to intimidation and received a deferred sentence on July 1, 1988. The other counts were dismissed.