One of two sheriff’s deputies wounded in a firefight with a suspect in Washington state has died, and the other is not expected to survive, authorities said Wednesday.
Deputies responded to a home in Spangle, a small farming community south of Spokane, on Tuesday afternoon after a woman told her neighbor that she had been shot by her brother, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said.
They determined the suspect had a felony warrant and that there might be other victims, and SWAT team members and deputies tried to breach the door.
Gunfire erupted from the home, and the two deputies were struck. They were taken to a hospital in critical condition. One died that night, and the other was being kept on life support Wednesday, allowing for the donation of his organs, the sheriff’s office said in a written statement.
“He will continue to serve others with the gift of life,” the statement said.
Neither was identified, but Sheriff John Nowels described them as younger members of the SWAT team. The deputy who died had a wife and two children.
“Although we know our Deputies knew the risks, they bravely moved toward danger to protect others they did not know,” the sheriff’s office said. “They did this with honor and with an unwavering sense of duty.”
Other deputies returned fire and found the suspect dead inside, along with one other victim in the house and one in the yard, authorities said.
The names of the victims and the suspect have not been released.
Authorities are investigating the shooting and what may have led to it.
The woman who reported being shot by her brother was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
