Edmonds police took a 35-year-old Everett man into custody about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday after the man armed with axes and a knife threatened to kill other motel residents and police officers during a two-hour standoff at the Golden West Motel in the 23900 block of Highway 99.

According to Edmonds police spokesman Sgt. Shane Hawley, the incident began at 6:30 a.m. when motel residents called 9-1-1 to report the man was threatening to kill people with a crow bar.

The man refused to come out of a room on the motel’s first floor, and began throwing items through the window, including a hot water tank, stove, toilet and chair. The suspect, who was armed with three axes and a knife, also threatened to kill the responding police officers, Hawley said.

A hostage negotiator also was called to the scene and attempted to talk to the suspect, who finally came out after police shot him with “a couple of heavy rubber projectile rounds,” Hawley said.

According to Hawley, toward the end of the standoff, the man stripped off his clothes. “That’s a big alert to us that there are narcotics involved, as people tend to overheat,” he said.

No bystanders or officers were injured during the incident. The suspect, who sustained injuries to his hand while throwing a toilet out the window, was taken to Swedish Edmonds Hospital.

Officers from Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace assisted at the scene, and South Snohomish Fire and Rescue crews were also on hand in the event medical attention was needed, Hawley said.

— By Teresa Wippel