Spokane Deputy Dies, Second Not Expected to Survive After Spangle Shooting

A Spokane County sheriff’s deputy has died and a second is not expected to survive after a domestic violence call near Spangle, Washington, ended in a gunfight on Tuesday that also left three people dead, including the suspected gunman.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said on Wednesday that one of the two deputies shot while trying to enter the home had died in hospital overnight. The second deputy remains on life support and is not expected to survive, the sheriff’s office said. He is an organ donor.

Neither deputy has been publicly named. The dead deputy is survived by his wife and children, and both wounded deputies were described by Sheriff John Nowels as young members of the sheriff’s SWAT team with very young children of their own.

What happened at the home

Deputies were sent to a home in the 18700 block of South Smythe Road, south of Spangle in eastern Washington, at about 2:25 p.m. on Tuesday after a woman ran to a neighbour’s house and said her brother had shot her.

The woman, who had non-life-threatening injuries, was taken to hospital. Investigators determined that the suspect had an active felony warrant and that there might be other victims inside the property, the sheriff’s office said.

At about 3:15 p.m., SWAT team members and deputies approached the home and tried to breach the door. They were immediately met with gunfire, and two deputies suffered life-threatening wounds, Nowels said at a news conference on Tuesday evening. Three deputies returned fire, The Spokesman-Review reported.

A third person was later found dead inside the home and another was found dead in the yard, alongside the suspect, who was also killed. The names of the victims and the suspect have not been released.

Both wounded deputies were taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, one by patrol car and the other by Life Flight helicopter, Police1 reported.

Investigations under way

The Spokane Police Department has taken over the investigation into the deaths, while the Washington State Patrol is investigating the deputies’ use of deadly force, Nowels said. The Spokane Independent Investigative Response team is also involved in the inquiry.

Officials have not said what triggered the violence inside the home, and the circumstances of the shooting remain under investigation.

A week of deadly shootings

The Spangle shooting is the latest in a series of deadly incidents involving law enforcement in the United States this week. It follows a shooting at a Tampa Citibank campus that left two people dead, and comes days after the nine-day manhunt for an escaped Tennessee prisoner ended with his capture in Missouri.

Nationally, the picture is more mixed. A Justice Department survey found that violent crime fell by 25% in 2025, although that figure excludes simple assault and is based on a redesigned survey instrument, with final estimates not due until 2027.

In Spokane County, the focus now is on the two deputies’ families and on the investigation into how a call for help at a rural home ended with four people dead and a second deputy fighting for his life.