Man Wounded in Weekend Hostage Siege Dies

A Redlands man shot in the head last weekend by a Garden Grove police sharpshooter during a hostage standoff in a quiet neighborhood died Tuesday.

Michael J. Wright, 32, was pronounced dead at United Western Medical Center-Santa Ana at 11:30 a.m., Garden Grove Police Lt. John Woods said.

Wright was shot in the head after he pistol-whipped his sister-in-law, wounded his estranged wife and took her and their 18-month-old daughter hostage at his sister-in-law’s home on Spinnaker Street.

Charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon would have been sought had he survived, Police Lt. Ken Whitman said.

The county district attorney’s office is routinely investigating the shooting. Deputy Dist. Atty. Wallace J. Wade said his investigators are still interviewing witnesses but so far have found nothing to indicate criminal conduct by police. He said such investigations usually take 60 to 90 days to complete.

Wright’s estranged wife, Beverly, 32, remained in stable condition with two chest wounds Tuesday at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center. Wright’s sister-in-law, Carole Ann Huffer, 34, was treated for head injuries and released.

According to police reports, Wright stormed into Huffer’s home with a gun, hit her with his handgun, shot his wife twice, then herded his wife and daughter, Shannon, into the garden and threatened to kill them.

Officers surrounded the home and tried to persuade Wright to drop the gun, but he continued to hold a rifle to his wife’s head, refusing to release her.

Wright still would not let go when the special tactical team had arrived at the yellow stucco house, police said, so the sharpshooter shot Wright.