Puyallup and Milton police fatally shoot man they say fired his weapon

Police fatally shot a man about 4 p.m. Friday in Puyallup after he fired at least one round, according to the Puyallup Police Department.

Five officers from the Puyallup department and two from Milton opened fire on the man at the Puyallup Recreation Center, according to Puyallup Capt. Ryan Portmann.

This was the week’s most recent officer-involved shooting in Pierce County. Pierce County sheriff’s Deputy Daniel McCartney was fatally shot late last Sunday while responding to a home-invasion robbery in Frederickson, in which one suspect fatally shot himself. Tacoma police fatally shot a man in a gunbattle at a burning home that night. A Pierce County deputy shot at the driver of a stolen car after the driver allegedly tried to hit him early Friday in South Hill.

Friday’s Puyallup shooting followed a 3:27 p.m. report to the Fife Police Department about a half-hour earlier of a vehicle swerving into oncoming traffic and stopping in the middle of the road in the 4300 block of 70th Avenue East, according to Portmann. In Puyallup, calls came into 911 a few minutes later about a vehicle making U-turns in the middle of a road and driving on sidewalks.

At 3:52 p.m., a Puyallup officer saw the vehicle stopped in the center turn lane in the 800 block of Valley Avenue Northwest, near the recreation center, according to Portmann. The officer approached and found no one inside, but did see a shotgun on the front seat.

The officer went around to the back of the recreation center and heard a gunshot from the south side of the recreation center, Portmann said.

The officer then called for backup, which came from officers from Puyallup, Milton and Fife, as well as Pierce County sheriff’s deputies.

The man crouched behind a utility pole and took a defensive position. Officers approached to within about 50 yards to try to communicate with the man, Portmann said, but he wouldn’t respond.

The man fired his rifle at least once, and seven officers returned fire, Portmann said.

The recreation center was occupied during the shooting, and its occupants were taken to a safe part of the building.

The man’s identity was not known, Portmann said. It was unclear whether he had been alone in the car.

The Metro Cities Crime Response Unit, a conglomerate of Pierce County’s smaller law-enforcement agencies, is investigating the shooting.