4 police officers killed in Wash. coffee shop - Gunman opened fire in 'execution'-style attack
PARKLAND, Wash. - A gunman walked into a coffee shop and shot and killed four police officers Sunday morning in what sheriff's officials described as an "execution."
The officers were sitting in the cafe at a strip mall near the Tacoma suburb of Parkland with their laptop computers, preparing for their day shifts, when a man came in and opened fire, Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.
The officers were obviously targeted because they were in full uniform and no one else was shot at, Troyer said.
"This was more of an execution. He walked in with the mind of shooting police officers," Troyer said.
It wasn't immediately known if any of the officers were able to return fire. They were declared dead at the scene.
Troyer said two employees and a few customers were in the Forza Coffee shop at the time but no one else was hurt. "As you can imagine they are all traumatized," Troyer said.
Authorities scoured the area for the gunman, who is believed to have fled on foot or by car. The suspect was described as a "scruffy"-looking black man in his 20s or 30s, 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 10, wearing a black coat ands blue jeans.
"We are in the process of searching multiple locations," Troyer said.
Nearby McChord Air Force Base was put on alert.
No advance threats
The victims were three males and one female, all officers with the Lakewood Police Department southwest of Tacoma, Troyer said.
There were no specific advance threats against the officers, Troyer said.
A $10,000 reward was being offered for information leading to those responsible.
Brad Carpenter, the founder of Forza Coffee, is a retired police officer himself, NBC News reported. Carpenter started Forza in 2002 and now has 21 stores, primarily in the Tacoma area.
Troyer said there was no known link between the Pierce County slayings and the Oct. 31 fatal shooting of a Seattle police officer who was ambushed as he sat in a parked patrol car with a rookie partner on a Seattle street.
Christopher John Monfort, 41, is charged with aggravated first-degree murder and attempted murder in that shooting. Monfort is also charged with arson and attempted first-degree murder for an October firebombing at a Seattle maintenance yard that damaged several police vehicles.
More from msnbc.com
The officers were sitting in the cafe at a strip mall near the Tacoma suburb of Parkland with their laptop computers, preparing for their day shifts, when a man came in and opened fire, Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.
The officers were obviously targeted because they were in full uniform and no one else was shot at, Troyer said.
"This was more of an execution. He walked in with the mind of shooting police officers," Troyer said.
It wasn't immediately known if any of the officers were able to return fire. They were declared dead at the scene.
Troyer said two employees and a few customers were in the Forza Coffee shop at the time but no one else was hurt. "As you can imagine they are all traumatized," Troyer said.
Authorities scoured the area for the gunman, who is believed to have fled on foot or by car. The suspect was described as a "scruffy"-looking black man in his 20s or 30s, 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 10, wearing a black coat ands blue jeans.
"We are in the process of searching multiple locations," Troyer said.
Nearby McChord Air Force Base was put on alert.
No advance threats
The victims were three males and one female, all officers with the Lakewood Police Department southwest of Tacoma, Troyer said.
There were no specific advance threats against the officers, Troyer said.
A $10,000 reward was being offered for information leading to those responsible.
Brad Carpenter, the founder of Forza Coffee, is a retired police officer himself, NBC News reported. Carpenter started Forza in 2002 and now has 21 stores, primarily in the Tacoma area.
Troyer said there was no known link between the Pierce County slayings and the Oct. 31 fatal shooting of a Seattle police officer who was ambushed as he sat in a parked patrol car with a rookie partner on a Seattle street.
Christopher John Monfort, 41, is charged with aggravated first-degree murder and attempted murder in that shooting. Monfort is also charged with arson and attempted first-degree murder for an October firebombing at a Seattle maintenance yard that damaged several police vehicles.
More from msnbc.com
Comment
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Comment by Uburalus on December 1, 2009 at 10:21am
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And notice he is a suspect. Yahoo is reporting that a lone traffic cop shot him this morning. Yesterday they reported the swat team was after him and stormed the wrong house. And of course Yahoo is totally trustworthy,lol.
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Comment by Jeff on November 30, 2009 at 4:27pm
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I811st. my sentiments exactly. The only thing the cops have ever done for me is arrest me 4 times for possession of very small amounts of marijuana.
They do not prevent crime.
They respond to crime AFTER it's occurred and typically the response is poor at best.
We need citizens active in crime prevention and we need the cops disbanded.
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Comment by I811st on November 30, 2009 at 4:07pm
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Why isn't anyone celebrating? That's what i want to know.F'TheCops!
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Comment by truth on November 30, 2009 at 1:46am
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Police surround Seattle home where person of interest in police shooting may be hiding
A SWAT team and police negotiators have surrounded a home in Seattle's Leschi neighborhood where the man sought for questioning in the Lakewood police shooting may be hiding.
By Seattle Times staff
A SWAT team and police negotiators have surrounded a home in Seattle's Leschi neighborhood where the man sought for questioning in the Lakewood police shooting may be hiding.
Police responded to the home at East Yesler Way and 32nd Avenue South around 8:44 p.m. A woman who was leaving the home. was stopped by officers and told them Maurice Clemmons was on the property and bleeding, according to a law enforcement source.
The woman told police that someone had dropped Clemmons off at the home.
The source also said police had received tips about two other properties they needed to search, in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood and in Renton.
Seattle police spokesman Jeff Kappel said police are now trying to confirm the identity of the person inside the Leschi home.
Police blocked off the street at East Yesler and 30th Avenue South.
Police are telling residents to stay indoors and keep their doors locked.
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It was someone that hates Law Enforcement. That means it could be, well, ANYONE.
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Comment by Aldona on November 29, 2009 at 8:33pm
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Another idea I have to get off my chest is that it could also be one of those situations where gun control will be more of an issue, or that they're gonna feel that the people are starting to target law enforcement officers, and so they will be justified to impose martial law, for as long as this gunmen ise on the lose..
I'mm still wondering who the shooter was... and with 2 employees and a few customers, and these four cops... the word ambush was used, and then execution style... I bet the witnesses will have to be quiet now, be forbidden to talk to anyone about what they really saw.
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I think it could have happened for many reasons, but I don't want to speculate too much. We need to sit tight until more information is leaked. Its the leaked stuff that is of interest, not what they tell us on media tv.
I saw 3 videos, one of which was maybe a trooper or sheriff. Well this guy kept looking into the camera when he wanted to make a point. It just seemed like something he might have rehearsed. That was just my first impression.
I just don't trust our government. Maybe these cops were oath keepers! Who knows?
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You would think that there would be descriptions of the gunmen, so that the public can be aware! Where are they? Was this a Black Operatoin?
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There's always a reason for things of this nature.
Perhaps revenge for the tasering or beating of an innocent person, since EVERYONE is innocent, even when they've been arrested. Innocent until proven guilty, that's the concept anyway.
To believe that Manchurian Candidates exist in reality is skating on the edge of the universe and not playing with factual evidence. Speculation, innuendo, hearsay and aspersion lead to incorrect conclusions.
Whatever the goal is It's my opinion that the Police Force in the United States is totally out of hand, tasering children, old ladies, everyone for even the most minor traffic crimes, like outdated registration and no insurance. They assassinate people regularly killing people with 23 and 41 bullet wounds in the back. They deal drugs. They are simply out of hand and the aftermath of this event is certainly NOT going to make it any better but far worse.
Like Marklar said, "As police become more violent, murdering citizens in the streets with impunity, it is inevitable that some will decide to shoot back."
That's a pretty concise statement Marklar and more than likely the reality here.
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Comment by Marklar on November 29, 2009 at 5:50pm
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As police become more violent, murdering citizens in the streets with impunity, it is inevitable that some will decide to shoot back.
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