OLYMPIA, Wash. — A man is dead after an officer-involved shooting in Olympia. The situation started with a high-speed chase, shutting down roads and putting an elementary school under lockdown.
“This is completely unbelievable that it happened in this neighborhood,” Vic Lillow, who lives nearby, said. “This is such a beautiful, quiet neighborhood.”
The fatal shooting happened in Southeast Olympia, near the corner of Hoffman Road and Morse Merryman Road.
“All deputies are okay, all uninvolved community members are okay, so that’s kind of what we are working with right now,” Sheriff Derek Sanders of Thurston County said.
Sanders said deputies tried to pull over a car that was going 90 MPH in a 35 MPH zone and started chasing it when it wouldn’t stop. A deputy reportedly tried to perform a pit maneuver, causing both the suspect and the deputy to crash.
“The suspect fled into a backyard and shots were fired,” he said.
Sanders said it is not yet clear who fired the first shots. Deputies reportedly ran after the suspect after hearing gunfire and opened fire.
Sanders said the deputies performed first aid on the suspect, but he died.
A passenger also got out of the crashed car and ran but was caught with the help of dogs, according to Sanders.
The Washington State Office of Independent Investigations is now looking into the shooting.
“OII is going to be the one that ultimately determines what shots were fired, how many shots were fired and who fired them,” Sanders said.
Neighbors told KIRO 7 they were rattled, but glad the ordeal is over.
“I don’t ever like to see somebody die,” Lillow said. “But really, when they are that irresponsible, they are endangering people.”
The deputies involved in the shooting are now on leave.
The passenger who ran reportedly had an active warrant. There is no word yet on why.