4 cops shot dead at US coffeehouse
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Four police officers were shot and killed at a coffee shop in the U.S. state of Washington Sunday morning in what seemed to be a "targeted attack," local media reported.
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Police officers stand outside the coffee shop where four police officers were shot and killed in the Tacoma, Washington suburb of Parkland, November 29, 2009. [Chinadaily.com.cn via agencies] |
Reports said that the officers were shot to death at a Forza coffee shop in a region dozens of miles south of Seattle.
According to a report by The Seattle Times newspaper, the Forza coffee shop is in a strip mall across the street from McChord Air Force Base and at a crossroads between Parkland and Lakewood, with a mix of residences and industrial businesses.
The officers were all from the Lakewood Police Department and they made up one patrol unit including a sergeant.
The four officers -- three male and one female -- were in full uniform and wearing bulletproof vests and were preparing for their shift when a suspect or suspects "walked in with a handgun, opened fire multiple times and then fled the scene," Ed Troyer, Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman, was quoted by local KING-TV station as saying.
Troyer called the shootings an "ambush," adding that investigators believed the officers were targeted, and it was not a robbery.
"They had marked police cars, marked uniforms, there were other people inside the facility, they weren't shot, wounded or hurt or even aimed at, just the police officers were," said Troyer.
"We hopefully will have answers, but there is nothing more we can tell you," Troyer said.
Authorities have offered a reward of 10,000 U.S. dollars for information leading to an arrest.
Sunday's shootings came about a month after the killing of Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton, who was targeted when he was gunned down while sitting in his patrol car the night of Oct. 31, The Seattle Times noted.
In a statement, Washington state governor Chris Gregoire said she was "shocked and horrified" by the killings.
"Our police put their lives on the line every day, and tragedies like this remind us of the risks they continually take to keep our communities safe," she said. "My heart goes out to the family, friends and co-workers of these officers, as well as the entire law enforcement community."
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