LAKEWOOD, Wash. -- An officer involved-shooting in Lakewood started as a domestic violence call and ended with the suspect shot to death.
Officers responded to a call at a home on 27 Rips Lane SW around 10:00 p.m. Tuesday. A woman inside that home suffered several assault related injuries, said Lakewood Police Lt. Chris Lawler. There were also children in the home at the time.
About 30 minutes after the initial call, officers spotted the suspect returning to the scene in a car with dark tinted windows. The man then fired a single gunshot from inside the car, said Lawler.
SWAT teamswere called andsurrounded the vehicle.Officers had difficulty seeing the suspect through the tinted windows, so theytried using less lethal methods to break the windows.
What they were trying to do is find out what was the condition of the suspect. Was he still a threat? Was he not a threat? said Lawler. That was the whole mission for them going up there (to the car).
The standoff went on for about an hour. That's when a SWATofficer thought he saw movement in the car and fired one shot.
Lakewood Police Department's Major Crimes Unit is investigating who fired the fatal round and whether it was self-inflicted or the officer's gunshot. Before he was fatally shot, the suspect was going to be arrested for felony assault, said Lawler.
Virginia Graves has known her next door neighbors for years and said they were getting a divorce.
It's scary...I hope she's okay. She has a 4-year-old son and for him to do this is just sad, said Graves.
The identity of the suspect may be released after the autopsy and his family is notified.
As for the woman, she was taken to a hospital with severe beating injuries. The children are safe and being cared for.
