Police pursuit started in Lewis County ends with 1 dead, 1 injured in Thurston County
One person was shot dead by police after a pursuit that began in Lewis County ended in Thurston County on Monday afternoon. An investigation is underway.
Lt. Cameron Simper with the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office said at a news conference in Tenino Monday afternoon that the incident involving two suspects started in Oregon, but he couldn’t say what started the original pursuit.
Officers in Southwest Washington were on the lookout for the vehicle the two suspects were in when a Napavine officer spotted it and tried to make a traffic stop. The car continued north, where Lewis and Thurston county deputies and other area officers joined the pursuit.
At Old Highway 99 near Violet Prairie Road SE, law enforcement shot at the suspects. Simper said he can’t say whether or not the suspects shot at police. One of the suspects was shot dead, and the other was injured, detained and taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia for treatment.
A citizen on the highway also was struck by gunfire, but Simper said their injuries were not life threatening.
Simper said multiple agencies in Lewis County were involved in the gunfire, but Thurston County deputies were not.
Old Highway 99 was closed from I-5 to State Route 507 after the incident, and was expected to remain so for several more hours, Simper said.
The incident is being investigated by the Region Three Critical Incident Investigation Team, which will be led by the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office.
At the news conference before 3 p.m. Monday, Simper said there’s no ongoing threat to the public, but anyone who may have witnessed the incident and has any footage of it is asked to contact the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office.
Since Thurston County was involved in the incident, Simper said he’s unable to comment further on what led to the original pursuit and other details about what happened.
This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 1:49 PM.
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