One man was shot and killed by law enforcement in Lacey after an hours-long standoff sparked by reports of gunfire within the College Pointe Apartment complex.
Lacey police, Thurston County SWAT, and the Thurston County Crisis Intervention Team all responded to the scene just off of 45th Ave SE and College Street SE in Lacey. Officers were called out for reports of shots fired from a home, where the suspect inside was shooting in multiple directions, according to the Lacey Police Chief.
The gunfire sent stray bullets several hundred feet away across 45th Ave, with at least one bullet striking a garage door. One resident said he initially mistook the gunfire for mufflers backfiring from cars that usually race up and down the avenue. His next-door neighbor heard anywhere from 15 to 20 gunshots between roughly 4:15 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. while working from home.
One resident’s aunt immediately got her kids in a car and left their home, which was right across from the suspect’s house. The timing raised particular concerns: kids had already come home from school.
“Generally, a quiet neighborhood, you know, kids had come home from school already, so I guess we could be grateful it didn’t happen while a lot of kids were coming back,” said Steven Potter, a nearby resident. “It’s very scary, I think our police officers and our firefighters did a great job, as best they could.”
By 6 p.m., the scene was secure, but a heavy law enforcement presence remained. Traffic was blocked between College Street and Stikes Drive. The roadblock remained past 10 p.m. on Wednesday. Residents reported having neighbors be denied access to their neighborhoods as they came home from work, due to the scope of the scene.
The investigation will now be handled by the Washington State Office of Independent Investigations, which oversees lethal shootings and evaluates the use of force by officers in those cases. This is standard protocol when law enforcement uses deadly force in Washington.
The incident highlights the unpredictable danger that can emerge in residential areas when armed standoffs occur. What started as reports of shots fired escalated into a situation that locked down multiple neighborhoods and sent bullets into homes where families were going about their evening routines.
