Four killed in Washington state stabbing before deputy fatally shoots suspect

A deadly stabbing on Washington state’s Key Peninsula unfolded in a matter of minutes on Tuesday morning, ending with four people dead and the suspect shot by a sheriff’s deputy — a sequence that began with a protection order that had not yet been formally served.

Pierce County deputies were first dispatched at about 8:41am local time after receiving reports that a 32-year-old man had violated a no-contact order. When officers checked the paperwork, they found the order was not legally in force because it had not been delivered to him in person. Deputies then left to serve the documents.

While they were on the way, the situation escalated.

At around 9:30am, witnesses reported the man attacking people outside a home on a cul-de-sac. The first deputy arrived roughly three minutes later, and gunfire was recorded at 9:33am, according to a video statement released by local authorities. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.

Three victims died where they were stabbed. A fourth was taken to hospital but later succumbed to their injuries, Pierce County Force Investigation Team spokesperson Officer Shelbie Boyd said. The identities of the suspect and the victims have not yet been publicly confirmed.

The investigation now centres on two parallel questions: the deputy-involved shooting and the events leading up to the stabbings.

Court records reviewed by The Associated Press indicate that the home where the attack occurred appeared to belong to a woman who had sought a one-year protection order against her son. In the filing, she alleged he had made threats, damaged property and “abusing me both mentally and emotionally”, and that he had struggled with mental health and substance abuse issues. She also accused him of “hurting my cat”.

The records show he had been notified of a hearing on the restraining order but did not attend. Because the order had not been served, deputies had no legal basis to enforce it when they first arrived earlier that morning.

That procedural gap — the time between a court granting protection and the order being formally delivered — has become a focal point in cases where violence occurs before enforcement can begin. In this instance, the attack took place while officers were attempting to complete that final step.

The Pierce County Force Investigation Team is leading the inquiry into both the use of force by the deputy and the stabbing itself, a standard process for officer-involved shootings in the region.