Police seize 11 firearms, ammo, knives, body armor after Tuesday’s Whatcom motel standoff

Ferndale Police confiscated 11 firearms along along with ammunition, knives, a hatchet and body armor following a nearly six-hour standoff with a man at a motel earlier this week.

Kenneth Frank Velen was initially booked Tuesday, Oct. 4, into Whatcom County Jail on suspicion of first-degree assault, but Whatcom County Superior Court documents show he was charged Wednesday, Oct. 5, with second-degree assault. Velen is currently being held in lieu of $200,000 bail.

Among the guns seized by police from his car and motel room were three semi-automatic rifles, one rifle, one shotgun and six handguns, according to information emailed to The Bellingham Herald by city of Ferndale spokesperson Riley Sweeney. Also confiscated were 97 magazines associated with those guns, one hatchet, three knives, body armor with a rifle plate, a Kevlar face mask and more than 4,200 rounds of ammunition.

“While the investigation is ongoing, I do not wish to speculate about the suspect’s intent, however, based on the weapons seized at the scene, this situation could have easily taken a very different path,” Ferndale Police Chief Kevin Turner said in a statement emailed to The Herald Thursday.

The Ferndale Police Department first reported the incident on social media Tuesday morning, saying they were responding to a situation at the intersection of Barrett Road and Main Street and advising people to avoid the area.

The incident began when Ferndale Police attempted to make a traffic stop of a white Chevrolet Blazer driven by Velen on suspicion of making an illegal turn and having no license plates and an unreadable temporary tag, Sweeney previously told The Herald.

Velen pulled into the Haggen parking lot, Sweeney reported, but when police attempted to speak to him, Velen opened the driver’s side and pointed a rifle at officers.

According to court documents in the case, Velen said something to the effect of “take a look at this” while pointing the rifle at the Ferndale officer, who quickly took cover.

Velen then drove off, according to Sweeney. The Blazer was located near Main Street and Interstate 5, and Velen was seen “casually” entering the nearby Super 8 Motel carrying body armor and a large duffle bag as he went into a room on the second floor, Sweeney reported Thursday.

When officers arrived, they saw three rifles within plain view in the Blazer, Sweeney reported. A refinery ID with Velen’s name and photo was also seen hanging from the rear-view mirror of his car, documents state.

Ferndale police set up a perimeter around the motel and the SWAT team responded, Sweeney reported.

People already in the motel were told to stay in their rooms, Sweeney told The Herald, and other businesses in the area also were placed on lockdown.

Police attempted to contact Velen, but he refused all attempts, according to Sweeney, prompting law enforcement to force contact by breaking the window to his room.

“Unfortunately, the suspect was not cooperative and tear gas was deployed into the room which caused the suspect to exit where he surrendered to officers,” Sweeney wrote.

That surrender occurred at approximately 10:10 a.m., Sweeney previously reported — nearly six hours after the initial traffic stop.

“These situations are extremely fast moving and when you have an armed suspect you have to quickly assess the danger to the public, time constraints, the suspects intent, and the ability to act on that intent,” Turner’s statement Thursday read, also expressing his gratitude that the officers were able to safely resolve the situation and take Velen into custody.