GIG HARBOR, Wash — Five people are dead, including the suspect, after a protection order violation in Gig Harbor escalated to a stabbing in the street and gunfire exchanged with deputies, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO).
The incident happened in the 14000 block of 87th Avenue Court Northwest.
Authorities say the initial call came in at 8:41 a.m. as an “Order Violation in Progress,” with the PCSO stating that an adult man came to the home despite having a no-contact order against him. Deputies confirmed the order was not valid as it had not yet been served.
Deputies obtained a copy of the order to serve the suspect, but while en route, they received an update at 9:30 a.m. that multiple witnesses were reporting the man was now stabbing people outside the home.
Witnesses said at least one of the victims was stabbed in the middle of the street in front of multiple onlookers.
“A few minutes later, Pierce County Sheriff’s deputy arrived on scene and called out shots had been fired,” Officer Shelbie Boyd, the public information officer for the Pierce Co. Force Investigation Team (PCFIT), said. “We have the adult male suspect who was shot by the deputy.”
Boyd added shots were reported at 9:33 a.m. At this point it’s unclear why it was almost an hour from the initial call to the first deputy arriving on scene.
The PCSO said three adult victims were found dead at the scene, while a fourth victim was taken to the hospital in critical condition but later died.
The attacker, a 32-year-old man, was also confirmed dead by the PCSO.
The identities of the victims have not been released.
“It was a protection order, so somebody involved in this was known,” Boyd said. “Relation to the stabbing victims, we’re uncertain what the relationships were of each of them.”
Court documents linked to the address of the home involved show a petition for a protection order was filed by a mother against her adult son in April 2025 and granted the following month in May. The protection order mentions the son having a mental health disorder and states he has pushed and threatened his mother in the past.
In her petition for the protection order, the mother stated her son has been abusing and threatening her, as well as damaging her personal belongings, harming her cat, recording her in her home, and “doing witchcraft/occult behavior and doing rituals in [her] home.”
The protection order stated the son was not to have any weapons or come within 1,000 feet of his mother, her home, her vehicle, or her workplace. The son was also ordered by the court to follow his treatment plan and take his medications.
The PCFIT has taken over the investigation into the deputy-involved shooting. Once the names of the victims have been confirmed and the victims’ families have been notified, the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office will later release their identities.