Police swarm FBI headquarters in Seattle as woman with a gun storms building
- A woman ran into the Seattle FBI building holding a gun Wednesday afternoon
A woman has been arrested by police in Seattle following an armed standoff after she stormed into the FBI headquarters in the city brandishing a gun.
The woman walked into a publicly-accessible area where visitors are required to wait to be buzzed into the lobby around 3:20pm PDT on Wednesday afternoon.
She was swiftly noticed by law enforcement agents who prevented her from going any further.
Seattle Police say the woman was pointing a gun at her chest, reports KIRO.
The woman did not gain access to the lobby and was taken into custody following negotiations with law enforcement. Detectives do not know what her demands were.
A woman has been arrested by police in Seattle following an armed standoff after she stormed into the FBI headquarters in the city brandishing a gun. She did not make it into the lobby
Police vehicles could be seen lined up outside the FBI building in Seattle as they dealt with a woman who was armed
Police could be seen crouching behind their own patrol vehicles as they were in a standoff for one hour with the woman who was holed up inside the FBI building
Police patrol vehicles could be seen racing to the building on Spring Street at 3rd Avenue before cordoning off several blocks around the area.
Officer began negotiating with the woman for more than an hour before she finally surrendered.
The FBI's SWAT team then arrested her at around 4:12pm without any injuries.
'We are grateful to the Seattle Police Department, King County Sheriff's Office, Federal Protective Service, and other law enforcement partners for their commitment to protecting our community,' said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle Field Office.
The woman's identity was not immediately released. Police and the FBI will continue to investigate her motives. No charges have been filed.
'We are continuing to investigate her motives, and no charging decisions have been made yet,' the FBI said in a statement.
Police patrol vehicles could be seen racing to the building on Spring Street at 3rd Avenue
The street was blocked off while police negotiated with the woman to surrender
Police were quick to surround the FBI building on Spring Street in Seattle
The FBI has reported an uptick in the number of threats against bureau personnel and facilities in the last few years.
A man armed with an AR-15 rifle and a nail gun tried to breach the FBI's Cincinnati field office in 2022 and was killed hours later after a standoff with authorities.
And in August, a man rammed a barricade at an FBI office in Atlanta and then tried to follow an FBI employee into the secure parking lot on foot.
