Law enforcement officers shoot and kill man in Spaway shooting after suspect allegedly shoots state trooper

Authorities said law enforcement officers shot and killed a man in a shooting in Spanaway after he allegedly fired shots at a police officer conducting a traffic stop unrelated to the shooting.

A spokesman for the Pierce County Force Investigation Team (PCFIT), which has now taken over the investigation into the fatal shooting, said the incident began after 10 a.m. Tuesday on State Route 512, near Steele Street South in Lakewood.

A police spokesman said officers stopped a vehicle for a road check when the suspect opened fire on it.

Pierce County and Washington State Police officers chased the suspect in multiple cities as he continued to shoot at officers.

“When someone shoots at officers and we start chasing them and they continue to shoot, that’s the most dangerous person we’re dealing with at that point. If they’re willing to shoot at officers, police officers and deputies, they’re probably willing to hurt anyone,” said Pierce County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Darren Moss.

The pursuit ended in a shootout between law enforcement officers and the suspect in the Spanaway neighborhood on 5th Avenue Court East, near 205th Street East.

Authorities said police and sheriffs were involved in the shooting, adding that sheriffs fired shots at the suspect. It was unclear who killed him.

A PCFIT spokesman said the suspect had multiple weapons on him.

We spoke to a neighbor who said he witnessed the shooting while he was babysitting his three children.

“I had my 2-year-old son in my arms. I looked to my left and heard what I now know were bullets. Officers were shooting at a man who was crouched on the ground,” said neighbor Janssen Olson. “My wife came outside and screamed, ‘Stop shooting at my husband.'”

Olson said the suspect was his neighbor.

“They had a nice house. They had two teenage daughters. They seemed like pretty normal people,” he said.

Olson shared cellphone video of part of the fatal shooting before grabbing the children and rushing them to safety in his home.

“I picked them all up and took them to the furthest part of the house where I thought they would be safest,” he said.

The footage shows the suspect exchanging gunfire with officers while lying in front of a white van.

“He must have been hit 15 times, shot 15 times,” Olson said.

KIRO 7 News reached out to investigators for additional details about the suspect, including whether he lived in the area where the shooting occurred.

Detectives did not provide details, but said the home and vehicle were hit by bullets.