Five individuals were shot dead in a neighborhood in a city south of Seattle, including a person who was shot by arriving police, a police spokesman said on Monday.
Officers arriving Sunday evening at apartments in Federal Way confronted a dangerous scene, with with a gunfight already in progress.
Officers found two wounded men when they initially came upon the scene. As they helped the two injured men, one of them went for a gun, she said.
This is when officers opened fire. The person ended up dead although the department said officers weren’t completely sure if it was from their gunfire.
Two other people were found dead on the ground.
During a search of the apartment complex, officers found a fourth man dead in one apartment and a shot-to-death woman in another residence. A police spokesperson said an investigation is in motion to conclude whether the woman was shot accidentally or if she was an intended target.
Eight officers fired their guns, a spokesperson said. All have been put on temporary suspension, due to standard procedure, as the investigation progresses.
Police aren’t sure what instigated the gunfight. Police will give further information to the press late Monday morning. “We still don’t have any idea what started this disturbance tonight,” Schrock said. He said the they are still searching for clues and have set a briefing for late Monday morning.
Police completed a thorough investigation of the apartments and are sure there were no more deaths from the shooting.
After the search they also concluded there weren’t any more shooters on the loose.
There were no reports of any officers being injured. The department has yet to give the identities of those killed.
Federal Way is about 20 miles south of Seattle Domestic Violence Seattle