Armed man attacking Tacoma’s ICE detention center killed in officer-involved shooting :
Police said Van Spronsen tossed lit
objects at vehicles and buildings, causing one car fire, and
unsuccessfully tried to ignite a propane tank. ... Deb Bartley, a friend of Van
Spronsen’s for about 20 years, described him as an anarchist and
anti-fascist, and she believes his attack on the detention center was
intended to provoke a fatal conflict. “He
was ready to end it,” Bartley said. “I think this was a suicide. But
then he was able to kind of do it in a way that spoke to his political
beliefs … I know he went down there knowing he was going to die.” She and other friends of Van Spronsen got letters in the mail “just saying goodbye.” He
also wrote what she referred to as a manifesto, which she declined to
discuss in detail but predicted would be taken by authorities.
