We now know the harrowing story of a Cottage Grove family whose home was picked as a hideout by the suspect in an alleged crime spree Monday that included two carjackings, an abduction in Maplewood and a sexual assault in St. Paul. The suspect took the Patterson family hostage before eventually speeding away in a stolen vehicle and fatally shooting himself after a shootout with police. Craig Patterson describes what he saw Monday morning when he woke up to his wife’s voice and some commotion. Patterson says he “heard yelling and she said that’s my husband, he’s coming down the stairs, please don’t shoot him, he doesn’t have a gun, we don’t own a gun, please don’t shoot him and I got to the top of the stairs from my bedroom door at that moment and I saw my wife at the bottom and she was frantically pleading for my life.” Patterson says in the moment he was less scared than just thinking–“how do we get out of this situation.” He says he believes his wife Lisa saved his life and it’s a blessing that they and two of their daughters who were home were not harmed. Here is Craig Patterson’s detailed retelling of what happened: