GIG HARBOR, Wash. — Pierce County community remembered the four women killed in a deadly stabbing spree with a vigil in Gig Harbor Wednesday night.
“I’ve lived in the harbor since 1989 and this is a tragedy like I’ve never experienced before,” Fiona Johnson, one of the attendees, said.
The shocking crime, which happened last Tuesday on the Key Peninsula just outside the city, touched many in the tight-knit community. A crowd of dozens decorated a gazebo on the waterfront with images of the victims and lit candles to pay their respects.
“They were well-known in the community, well-loved in the community,” Gary Rudd, a chaplain for the city’s police and fire departments, said. “Did a lot of activities, a lot of things together.”
The stabbing suspect, Aleksandr Shabilykin, was shot and killed by a Pierce County deputy.
Body cam footage obtained by KIRO 7 shows the suspect during a traffic stop in 2022. He was pulled over for using a cell phone while driving. In the footage, he reveals himself to be a member of the sovereign citizen movement, a group of people who believe the government and laws do not apply to them.
“I am no longer a human or a person,” Shabilykin said during the traffic stop. “I am operating under my own jurisdiction as a living man.”
Court records detail his behavior in the years between the traffic stop and the fatal stabbings. A protection order filed by his mother detail the suspect’s mental health struggles.
The documents also state he performed “occult rituals” in his mother’s home, told her he was an Egyptian god and threatened the lives of her and her cat.
Shabilykin’s mother was one of his four victims.
“The lack of awareness for mental health issues, not just in our state but around the nation, is a grave concern of mine,” Johnson said.
A spokesperson for Gig Harbor said future memorial events are in the works.