At least five people are reportedly dead, including a gunman, following an armed standoff in Washington state, The Associated Press reports.
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“He reported that he shot people”, Mason County Chief Deputy Ryan Spurling told NBC affiliate KING5. A 12-year-old girl who survived has been taken to the hospital for an evaluation.
The newspaper reported that a SWAT team eventually entered the home and found four people dead. The gunman then shot himself in front of the authorities.
Mason County Sheriff’s officers stand outside a Belfair, Washington, home wear a gunman killed four people before fatally shooting himself.
During the morning, the Mason County Sheriff’s Office couldn’t confirm anyone had been shot because they hadn’t been able to get into the home.
The neighbor, Jack Pigott, 79, who lives across the road from the house where the incident occurred, said authorities told him the victims were all from one family and that the suspected gunman was a stepfather. The girl had been adopted from China when she was a baby, and two older boys had been adopted from Russian Federation, he said.
Mr Spurling said the victims were found in one of about 11 outlying buildings on the property. A town of around 3,900 about 25 miles west of Seattle.
The Mason County sheriff’s office is reporting a shooting outside of Belfair in Mason County.
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According to CBS affiliate KIRO, authorities first reported that the man called 911 at 9:37 a.m. Friday, saying he had shot his wife and children and was holding a gun to his head.
