From our news partner The Seattle Times:

…Deputy Police Chief Nick Metz, said that a passer-by called 911 at 2:25 p.m. to report a man slumped over the steering wheel of his car that was parked in the 1400 block of South Atlantic Street. Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Sue Stangl said that paramedics responded to the scene for a 911 call regarding a man who was possibly ill in a car.

Metz said the firefighters tried to get the man to open the vehicle door, but he refused.
When a firefighter finally got the door opened, the man pulled out a handgun, said Metz. He said that the firefighters backed off and took cover as police were summonded.

SWAT officers responded. The man “still had the weapon in his hand,” and the SWAT officers “ordered several times for him to drop the weapon,” he said.

Neighbors were confined to their homes temporarily while investigators worked the scene.

Read more in The Times. And more about the possibility of “suicide by cop.”

11/23 Update: More details on the SPD Blotter blog.