A Pierce County sheriff's deputy shot and killed a 32-year-old man suspected of stabbing four people to death near Gig Harbor on Tuesday.
Here's what we know.
What happened?
Authorities received calls reporting a man violating a protection order around 8:45 a.m. However, investigators determined the order was not active because it had not been served yet, Pierce County sheriff’s office and Key Peninsula Fire said in a joint statement.
Deputies were on their way to serve the order around 9:30 a.m. when multiple 911 calls came in saying a man was stabbing people outside a home in the 14000 block of 87th Avenue Court Northwest.
A deputy shot and killed the man around 9:33 a.m. The deputy was placed on procedural administrative leave, authorities said.
Three adults suffered what appeared to be stab wounds and died at the scene. A fourth adult also suffered apparent knife wounds and was taken to a hospital, but died of their injuries, said Pierce County Force Investigation Team spokesperson Shelbie Boyd, a Tacoma police officer.
Who are the deceased?
As of Wednesday morning, the suspect and the stabbing victims had not been publicly identified.
A 52-year-old woman and her 32-year-old son were listed as residents at the home where the incident occurred. A Pierce County Superior Court commissioner ordered the son to vacate the residence last May and to stay away from his mother, citing safety and mental health concerns.
The commissioner banned the son from possessing weapons and ordered a treatment plan, according to court filings.
The mother previously filed several protection orders against the son, dating back to 2020.
Pierce County court records suggested the son had been cited for infractions in municipal courts, but he had no felony history in Pierce or King counties.
What questions remain unanswered?
Many.
Investigators did not say whether the incident started inside the house or if the stabbings were in progress when deputies arrived.
It's unclear why the protection order hadn't been served before Tuesday.
The suspect's relationship to those killed also hasn't been made public.
Authorities continued to investigate a crime scene that sprawled down a residential street on Tuesday evening.
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