Deputy shot, gunman dies in Spanaway shootout
Dec 3, 2013, 5:35 PM | Updated: 10:13 pm
A Pierce County sheriff’s deputy was shot in the arm after exchanging gunfire with a man who was later found dead at a Spanaway storage unit Tuesday afternoon.
Family members called authorities after the 27-year-old gunman barricaded himself in a storage shed in the 21700 block of Mountain Highway and threatened to kill people, said Pierce County Sheriff’s detective Ed Troyer. When deputies contacted him, he opened fire on them with what’s believed to be an assault rifle.
“Obviously he has some mental health issues,” Troyer said. The gunman reportedly told family members he was a prophet and the end of the world was near.
The injured deputy was sent to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The gunman was found dead inside the storage unit following a standoff. It’s not known if he was shot by deputies or took his own life.
The gunman was armed with a number of weapons and a large amount of ammunition along with body armor, Troyer said.
