Washington Murder-Suicide: Man Kills Estranged Wife's Boyfriend Before Shooting Self

In a murder-suicide incident in Washington, a man shot and killed his estranged wife's boyfriend before turning the gun on himself. Police said the man showed up at the woman's workplace Tuesday and said he wanted to talk to her boyfriend.

Lt. Chris Lawler, a public information officer for the Lakewood Police Department, said officers responded to a shooting at St. Clare Hospital. When they arrived at the scene, they found two men with gunshot wounds. The woman, who was present at the scene, said that her estranged husband whom she was divorcing, insisted on meeting her new boyfriend and then opened fire at him. The woman's boyfriend also worked at the same hospital.

“He said, ‘Hey, I want to talk to your new boyfriend,’” Lt. Chris Lawler said, according to local media. “As soon as they met, the estranged husband opened fire on the boyfriend.” The victim was shot multiple times.

CHI Franciscan, which owns St. Clare Hospital, released a statement late Tuesday in response to the incident:

“Earlier this morning a shooting incident took place in the parking lot at St. Clare Hospital. We are cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation and have learned that one of our employees was fatally shot, and the shooter is also deceased after taking his own life. We have confirmed all other staff and patients are safe and this was an isolated incident. The hospital was briefly on lockdown at the time and is now fully open. We take very seriously the personal safety of our staff, patients and visitors. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and colleagues affected.”

Last month, a man fatally shot his pregnant ex-girlfriend, wounded her family before killing himself in Houston. Police said the suspect, identified as Kendrick Thomas, forced his way into a home in the 6900 block of Landor Street near Tipton Street on May 20 and shot his ex-girlfriend, who was seven months pregnant. He also shot her sister and mother. Thomas then drove to his ex-girlfriend’s current boyfriend’s home and shot him twice.

Police launched a search for Thomas and found him hiding in a truck the following day. After a 10-minute standoff between the suspect and the police, Thomas killed himself.

Police called it a case of "domestic violence turned deadly." The pregnant woman, identified as 24-year-old Cody John, died. The woman’s mother and sister were treated at a hospital and were stable. The pregnant woman’s boyfriend, James Bass, was also in a stable condition.