Tacoma Shooting: Hostages Rescued By Police, Shooter Barricaded Inside Store

UPDATE: 1:20 a.m. EDT: The Sheriff Department tweeted the suspect was finally in custody. They said he was believed to have been hit by shots from the deputies in the first round, but was wearing body armor. He was evaluated by medics but it was reported he was not seriously injured.

The department continued to clear the area and the building to make sure there weren’t more victims and suspects involved in the incident.

Original story

The Peirce County Sheriff’s office said they rescued the last remaining person Thursday night in a hostage and shooting situation near Tacoma, Washington, while the suspect remained barricaded inside a building.

The Sheriff’s Office tweeted the suspect was continuing to shoot numerous rounds, and was believed to be in possession of multiple firearms including handguns.

“Multiple agencies on scene & attempting to make contact with suspect for negotiations. All lanes of Pacific Ave. remain shut down,” the office tweeted.

The officers were responding to an incident at Sky Motors, a used car dealership in the city. According to updates, all deputies and reporters were accounted for, and not injured from the incident. SWAT was on the scene, and additional resources were expected, the Peirce County Sheriff’s Office said.

The area of 13401 Street in Pacific Avenue was completely blocked due to the incident, reports said. People were urged to avoid the area as the shooting between the police and suspect continued on.

Pierce County Firefighters asked people in the area to “shelter in place,” to avoid getting caught up in the firing.

According to the sheriff’s department, the situation began when an armed suspect entered the business and took one person as a hostage.

“Suspect fired multiple rounds inside business, hostage has been rescued by deputies. Suspect continues to fire off numerous rounds at deputies & across Pacific Ave., is believed to be barricading himself inside the business,” a tweet from the Sheriff’s department said.

The active scene was directly across a Saars Marketplace. The police said until the situation was deemed safe to escort employees and customers from the store, they were in lockdown inside the building.

Airspace over the area was shutdown as well, the sheriff’s department said.

Employees inside the car dealership were held hostage as the robbery went awry.

“Just found out the suspect went into the car dealership with a duffle bag full of guns demanding a car,” a person who is at the scene tweeted. “Swat team is preparing to enter. Doors are being broken.”

The police arrived at the scene immediately and most of the employees inside the business escaped.

All lanes of Pacific Avenue remained closed.