Shooting in Rural Washington Leaves 5 Dead, Including Gunman

Membership Ticker

BREAKING: Good journalism costs money.
And we need a lot of both right now. We’re short of our August goal of $163,000 in online donations, and it’s not going to get any easier next month when election noise and news will be even louder. You know what’s at stake. And you know Mother Jones is up for it. Will you pitch in now so we can do our best work?

We need to raise $163,000 before the month ends and the election noise and news get louder. You know what’s at stake. And you know Mother Jones is up for it. Please help if you can.

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.