Two deputies down, one dead in Spokane County home raid
A suspect with a felony warrant fired on officers during a breach in Spangle, leaving two fatalities inside and one outside the property.
By Nadia Singh ·
Two sheriff’s deputies are dead or dying after a shootout at a home in Spangle, Washington, that began Tuesday afternoon. One officer died the night of the incident, and the second is on life support as of Wednesday.
The Spangle raid started when a woman told her neighbor she had been shot by her brother. Deputies from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office arrived to find the suspect inside. They held a felony warrant and feared other victims were trapped in the house.
SWAT team members and deputies moved to breach the front door. Gunfire came from inside, striking two officers. Both were transported to a hospital in critical condition. The department said the surviving deputy is being kept on life support to allow for organ donation.
“He will continue to serve others with the gift of life,” the sheriff’s office said in a written statement. Sheriff John Nowels described the two officers as younger members of the SWAT team. The deceased deputy left behind a wife and two children.
Other officers returned fire and found the suspect dead inside the house. Authorities also located one victim inside and one in the yard. The woman who initially reported the shooting was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
Names for the suspect and the three victims have not been released. Investigators are working to determine what led to the shooting. The sheriff’s office noted that the deputies “bravely moved toward danger to protect others they did not know.”
