HollyMatkinSpokane, WA – A gunman opened fire on two Spokane police officers as they were sitting in their patrol car on Tuesday night, the police chief said.
“Just before 6 o’clock, 911 received a call of a domestic violence incident involving a firearm,” Spokane Police Chief Craig Meidl told KREM. “While the complainant was on the phone with the 911 call taker, the call taker could hear shots being fired in the background.”
Chief Meidl said the caller was the suspect’s roommate.
At least two Spokane police officers responded to the residence, but the suspect had fled the scene prior to officers’ arrival.
The unnamed officers remained at the home and conducted an initial investigation, and were sitting in their patrol car near the residence.
“About an hour and a half after the initial incident, the subject returned,” Chief Meidl told KREM.
He said the gunman was on foot.
“The subject opened fire on the vehicle the officers were sitting in,” Chief Meidl said. “The officers returned fire, striking the subject multiple times.”
Officers “immediately rendered first aid” to the shooter, whose name has not been released. The man was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The officers and the shooter’s roommate were uninjured.
According to the Spokesman-Review, the shooter was a man in his 50s.
Investigators said they recovered the man’s weapon at the scene.
“This person is another example of an individual who has an extensive felony conviction history and is in possession of firearms,” Chief Meidl told KREM. He added that the suspect was “well known” to law enforcement officers.
Chief Meidl said that incidents of domestic violence are one of the department’s “top calls,” and present a particularly significant risk to first responders.
“One of the issues you have in domestic violence calls is that emotions run high…and there’s usually a very long history behind those emotions,” Chief Meidl explained. “So when law enforcement responds, we respond to a very tense situation that is almost like a tinder box, and they’re putting officers right in the middle of those situations.”
Although at least one of the officers involved in the shooting had a body camera, Chief Meidl said he doesn’t know if it was recording at the time of the shooting, because the officers were sitting in their vehicle and were taken by surprise.
The Washington State Patrol and Spokane County Sheriff’s Office will conduct the officer-involved shooting investigation, KTMF reported.
Both officers have been placed on leave while the investigation is underway.