Two Pierce County Sheriff's deputies were shot shortly before 9 p.m. Monday night outside Eatonville, Detective Ed Troyer said. Both were in critical condition. The suspected shooter also was shot and killed, Troyer said.
The deputies responded to a domestic violence incident in the 34300 block of Tanwax Court East. Two brothers were involved, and one invited law enforcement inside.
Police said the initial call was for an unwanted guest, and there was a fight with a 15-year-old girl in the residence.
One of the brothers was hiding upstairs and "basically ambushed the deputies," Troyer said. One was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle; the other was flown to Madigan Army Hospital.
It was not immediately clear which deputy returned fire.
"We're trying to figure out what happened and what led up to this," Troyer said at the scene.
Police said late Monday there were indications deputies had been to the residence before, but did not immediately have additional details.
Since Oct. 31, at least eight deputies or officers have been shot in Western Washington. Police say all attacks were ambushes. At least five have been fatal.
On Oct. 31, Seattle police officer Tim Brenton was shot to death in the Leschi neighborhood and his partner, Britt Sweeney, was wounded.
Christopher J. Monfort has been charged with aggravated first-degree murder as well as three counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of arson. Read more here.
The morning of Nov. 29, four Lakewood Police Department members – Sgt. Mark Renninger, and officers Tina Griswold, Ronald Owens and Greg Richards – were shot to death at Forza Coffee, near McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma.
Police say their killer, Maurice Clemmons, was shot to death in Seattle on Dec. 1 after a two-day manhunt.
Police say December has a high number of domestic violence incidents statewide.
The Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence reported that in 2006, there were 12,267 violations of domestic violence protection orders statewide, and at least 32 children have died in state domestic violence cases since 1997.
