4 killed in stabbing outside residence in Washington state, suspect also dead: Authorities

Four people are dead in a stabbing outside a residence in Washington state, authorities said Tuesday.

The suspect, a 32-year-old man, was shot by a responding deputy and is also dead, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.

Multiple witnesses reported that a man was stabbing people outside a home on the Key Peninsula, according to the sheriff’s office. The stabbing was reported at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

Less than an hour prior to the stabbing attack, authorities received a call that the suspect was violating a protection order at the house, according to the sheriff’s office. While en route to the residence, a Pierce County deputy determined that the protection order had not yet been served and obtained a copy to serve it at the scene, authorities said.

“While the deputy was getting that information, more information came out that there was an act of stabbing occurring at the location,” Tacoma Police Officer Shelbi Boyd said during a press briefing. “About three minutes later, Pierce County Sheriff’s deputy arrived on scene and called out that shots had been fired.”

The suspect was shot by the deputy, Boyd said.

Three of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while a fourth died at a local hospital, authorities said. All four had been stabbed, Boyd said. The suspect was also pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

“I’m not certain where the initial encounter took place, but it all came to a head outside,” Boyd said.

No details on the victims or the suspect’s name have been released. Authorities are looking into the relationship between the suspect and the victims, Boyd said.

“It was a production order, so … somebody involved in this was known,” she said. “Relation to the stabbing victims, we’re uncertain what the relations were of each of them.”

The Pierce County Force Investigation Team is investigating.