Last weekend, what reports are calling a “SWAT standoff” took place at a Castle Rock home. It reportedly began when a 40-year-old suspect shot his pregnant wife in her shoulder. The suspect then allegedly locked himself in his home while the female victim and her son left the scene.
Morning turned into day, and day became evening as Douglas County officers surrounded the home for 11 hours in an attempt to secure the neighborhood and detain the assault suspect. At the end of the day, the man surrendered and is now in police custody, but he is yet to face a courtroom, wherein he is likely to be formally charged with domestic violence and assault.
A judge has kept the suspect from a courtroom due to the opinion that he is currently incompetent to understand what’s going on, what he’s faced with and even what has happened. It’s been requested that the Colorado assault suspect go through a mental evaluation before the legal proceedings commence.
Perhaps the pending evaluation will offer a clearer explanation as to why the man’s wife was shot and why the suspect was so upset that day. He did reportedly lose his job the day before the standoff, but officers and a source close to the suspect also claim that he was demonstrating some unusual behavior, including paranoid delusions.
It is suspected that drugs might have been a factor in the shooting, though sources do not report that the man has a history of drug use. He, however, has previously been charged with domestic assault that led to his ex-wife filing a restraining order against the suspect.
As for the current wife, she is in stable condition after the shooting, and the toddler and unborn baby are uninjured. We will post an update to this story with any new developments.
Source
9News.com: “Man accused of shooting pregnant wife still deemed incompetent for court,” Jeffrey Wolf and Corey Rose, 22 Dec. 2010