Washington State Patrol and Lakewood Police officers light flares at a roadblock near the scene of the shooting. Photo courtesy of The Seattle Times.
Two Pierce County police officers are in critical condition after being ambushed Monday while responding to a domestic violence call near Eatonville, approximately 20 miles south of Puyallup. The suspected shooter is reportedly dead.
The officers were shot just before 9pm, when they responded to an domestic violence incident reportedly involving two brothers at a house with a 15-year-old girl in the residence.
The shooting happened around 8:50 p.m. Monday in the 33300 block of Tanwax Court East.
UNCUT: Phone Interview With Detective Ed Troyer
Troyer said deputies were called to the home for a domestic violence incident with an "unwanted guest." Troyer said one man wanted his brother out of the house.
When officers arrived, they were invited into the home by the first man while his brother “went upstairs and armed himself,” Troyer said.
When the deputies went upstairs, the man opened fire on the deputies, hitting one multiple times.
The deputies managed to fire rounds back and killed the suspect.
“A lot of rounds were fired,” Troyer said.
“Basically he knew we were coming in and potentially hid and armed himself and waited for them to enter the residence,” Troyer said.
He said he did not believe anyone else in the home was in on the shootout.
Many police departments are aiding in the investigation including officers from Lakewood and Eatonville. Mobile command units are also being set up as the investigation will continue throughout the night.
“Right now our main concern and thoughts are with the families and our guys,” Troyer said.
“It’s just unfortunate that we’re well practiced at this with what’s happened here in the past month in the Northwest,” Troyer said.
On Nov. 29, four Lakewood police officers were killed while they were sitting in a Parkland coffee shop. The shooter, Maurice Clemmons, was killed by a Seattle officer days after the incident.
On Oct. 31, Seattle police Officer Timothy Brenton was killed when the suspected shooter, Christopher Monfort, opened fire on Brenton and his partner, Britt Sweeney, while they were sitting in a patrol car.
