Reported bat assault outside Whatcom County casino leads to standoff, arrest
A 50-year-old Bellingham man was arrested Friday morning on suspicion of second-degree assault following a standoff with police, according to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.
WSCO spokesperson Deb Slater said deputies were called to the parking lot of the Nooksack Northwood Casino north of Lynden near the border with Canada at about 6 a.m. for a reported assault. She said the victim told police that the 50-year-old got out of his car with a knife and approached them, then took a baseball bat out of his car and struck them with it.
Surveillance footage showed the man walking up to the other person and hitting them with the bat.
The 50-year-old was gone when police arrived, and officers went to his residence on the 5200 block of Graveline Road. Slater said the man refused to come out for over three hours after police told him he was under arrest.
When he eventually came outside, he was arrested and eventually booked into Whatcom County Jail on suspicion of second-degree assault, harassment and obstructing a law enforcement officer. He had yet to be formally charged as of Friday afternoon.