Four police officers were gunned down in a Tacoma Washington suburb just ast they were starting work. A massive manhunt is underway in western Washington state Sunday night for a gunman who ambushed and killed four police officers. The suspect shot four Lakewood Police Department officers as they sat together at a coffee house in Parkland, working on their laptops. The three men and one woman were just starting their morning shift.
Ed Troy, the Pierce County Sheriff Spokesman said, "We do know this was a targeted, this was more of an execution, walked in with the specific mind of shooting police officers."
One of the police officers reportedly managed to return fire before he died. "There was a struggle in there and there is a possibility that one of the Lakewood police officers fired a shot. We are finding evidence that the suspect may be hurt."
Police now say they are looking for a person of interest, 37 year old Maurice Clemens. "If he is hit, he is injured somewhere with a gunshot wound. He's gonna have that taken care of sometime someplace."
Police erected road blocks and fanned out over a wide area to try and catch the suspect. Tonight an outpouring of grief swept over a vigil held for the slain officers. Firefighters displayed a huge American flag in solidarity as make shift memorials sprang up near the crime scene.
The local Sheriff spoke at the scene of the mass execution saying "we lost people that we care about, we lost people I am sure that the good people in the community care about as well."
Troyer says two of the officers were shot and killed as they sat at a table Sunday morning, working on their laptops. One was shot standing up and the fourth fought with the gunman and made it outside and was able to get off some shots.