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Mack was shot and killed Wednesday after Mack first shot at officers from the backyard of his home on Maytown Road Southwest, and officers returned fire, according to the Thurston County Sheriff's Office.
Autopsy results revealed Mack died of a single gunshot wound to the abdomen. Thurston County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the area of Littlerock and Maytown roads at 11:45 am. Wednesday on a report of a man with a rifle blocking traffic. The man had reportedly fired a shot at a passing car.
When deputies arrived, they ordered the man, later identified as Mack, to drop his weapon, but he instead fled to his home on Maytown Road, according to Thurston County Sheriff's Lt. Greg Elwin.
According to Elwin:
Mack fired at deputies after he returned to his home, and some of the rounds struck Littlerock Elementary School across the street. Deputies formed a perimeter, and when Mack left his home out the back door, he was armed with a pistol. Mack began firing from his back porch at two Thurston County sheriff's deputies and a Tenino police officer. A 47-year-old deputy and a 36-year-old Tenino officer returned fire. Mack was struck by gunfire and was pronounced dead at the scene.
It is unknown which officer fired the shot that struck the Mack. Both the sheriff's deputy and the Tenino officer who fired shots have been placed on paid, administrative leave, which is standard practice in officer-involved shootings.
The shooting is being investigated by the Region 3 Critical Incident Investigation Team, which includes detectives from Thurston, Mason, Lewis, Grays Harbor and Pacific counties.
Mack was distraught over his wife's recent death from cancer, according to neighbors. Neighbors said Mack had been acting erratically since her death. Mack was a retired corrections officer at the Cedar Creek Corrections Center.
Anyone with information related to the incident is encouraged to call Lewis County Sheriff's Det. Dan Riordan at 360-740-2765.
Jeremy Pawloski: 360-754-5445 jpawloski@theolympian.com
