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Police officer shot, children taken hostage in Tacoma neighbourhood

An overnight standoff in a Tacoma neighbourhood ended after a SWAT team shot and killed a 38 year-old suspect who shot and killed a police officer and took two children hostage.

An overnight standoff ended after police shot and killed suspect, 38 years old

The Associated Press ·
Law enforcement officers stand by command vehicles on East 52nd Street in Tacoma, Wash., in the early hours of Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, near the home where a Tacoma Police officer was fatally shot Wednesday. The police officer who was shot multiple times while responding to a domestic violence call died Wednesday night, while police worked to arrest a suspect they believed was still barricaded in the home with a gun, authorities said. (Ted S. Warren/The Associated Press)

The suspect in the fatal shooting of a Tacoma officer has been shot and killed by police after a lengthy barricade situation, authorities said early Thursday.

Pierce County Sheriff's Department spokesman Ed Troyer says the suspect was shot at approximately 3:30 a.m. Thursday, ending an 11-hour standoff. The suspect has not been identified.

Troyer says a girl and a boy, found unharmed, have been taken from the house. He says officers found multiple weapons in the house.

Earlier, the neighbourhood had been locked down while officers from multiple agencies worked to bring about a peaceful resolution.

Before the standoff began, a Tacoma officer was shot multiple times while answering a domestic violence call Wednesday. The officer has not been identified.

Tacoma Police spokeswoman Loretta Cool said the officer was pronounced dead at the hospital after nightfall.

Police stand by a distraught Kristi Croskey at the scene where a Tacoma Police officer was shot while responding to a domestic call in East Tacoma, Wash., Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016. Croskey was in the house with the shooter and fled. (Peter Haley/The Associated Press)

'A great loss'

"We've suffered a great loss and I think the community has suffered a great loss. I don't know how to put that into words," Cool said.

After the death of the officer, a procession of law enforcement officers from around the region escorted the body from the hospital to the county medical examiner's office.

Cool said police responded to the home Wednesday afternoon in the 400 block of East 52nd Street and that shortly after arriving, officers called for backup.

Reacting to shots fired, arriving officers entered the home and managed to get the wounded officer outside and to a hospital, Cool said. She had said the officer had been undergoing surgery before the death was announced.

It wasn't immediately clear what led up to the shooting.

Law enforcement officers gather at Tacoma General Hospital, where a Tacoma Police officer was taken after being shot while responding to a call Wednesday evening, Nov. 30, 2016, in Tacoma, Wash. Authorities say the officer shot multiple times while responding to a domestic violence call has died. Tacoma Police spokeswoman Loretta Cool says the officer was pronounced dead at the hospital Wednesday evening. (Ted S. Warren/The Associated Press)

In a statement, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said he and his wife Trudi were sending their thoughts and prayers to the family and loved ones of the officer.

"All of Washington grieves with Tacoma, which tonight lost one of their finest. Our hearts are with the men and women of the Tacoma Police Department, their families, and their brothers and sisters in law enforcement across Washington."

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