Shooting in Rural Washington Leaves 5 Dead, Including Gunman

Membership Ticker

Are there any guardrails left?

Autocratic forces are ascendant in America, but the story isn’t fully written. Truth-telling independent media is one remaining bulwark against the unrestrained exercise of power. At a time when billionaire owners of corporate media are making accommodations to power, our nonprofit newsroom cannot be bought, bent, or broken. Depend on it, and please stand with us.

Mason County Sheriff's Office

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

A gunman shot and killed four people at a house in rural western Washington state on Friday before he turned the gun on himself, Mason County officials have confirmed.

The incident in Belfair, Washington, started Friday morning, when authorities received a call from a man who said he had shot four people. A SWAT team responded to the house, where authorities attempted to negotiate with the suspected gunman for several hours.

Mason County Sheriff Casey Salisbury told reporters that the gunman stepped out of the house and shot himself in front of deputies. “It’s a terrible tragedy,” Salisbury told the Seattle Times.

According to the Associated Press, a girl who survived has been taken to the hospital for an evaluation.