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Gunman kills 4 police officers in WA coffee shop

by Susan Marie Kovalinsky | November 29, 2009 at 11:05 am

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The Associated Press and msnbc are reporting that four police officers were ambushed and shot in Pierce County, Washington, this morning as they had coffee in the Forza Coffee Shop in the Lakewood district, near the Washington State Air Force base. SEE MSNBC VIDEO STORY See Now Public Breaking Coverage by "Pocci" , NP Editor here.

Also: The fact that this took place near an Air Force base has made some think it is in some way linked to the Fort Hood incident. For an interesting analysis that believes these "isolated incidents" to be in fact acts of terror, see from Pajamas Media, "Hit and Run Jihad comes to America".

A gunman walked into a coffee shop and shot and killed four police officers Sunday morning in what sheriff's officials described as an "ambush."

The officers were sitting in the cafe at a strip mall near the Tacoma suburb of Lakewood with their laptop computers, preparing for their day shifts, when a gunman came in and opened fire, Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.

"This was a targeted, selected ambush," Troyer said, adding that customers and baristas were in the Forza Coffee shop at the time but no one else was shot at or injured.

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Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 12:58 on November 29th, 2009

I don't think anyone at McChord thinks its terror. Good story Smokey.

tikun

at 13:06 on November 29th, 2009

Maybe they know something we don't?

Hugh Askew

at 16:16 on November 29th, 2009

Difficult to kill cops and get away with it. Croosses a line that is not allowed to be crossed. They will find them.

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 16:33 on November 29th, 2009

KOMO TV Seattle now reports that the shooter may have been shot..

Investigators now believe the gunman also may have been shot during the cold-blooded attack, as one of the officers returned fire just before he died of his injuries.

One of the officers was shot as he attempted to struggle with the gunman, Troyer said. Another officer fired off some shots toward the gunman as he fled, and may have hit him.

"We have reason to believe there were shots fired," Troyer said. "We hope the suspect was shot, because that would tell us who it is. There aren't a whole lot of people running around with gunshot wounds." Two baristas and a handful of other customers were inside the coffee shop at the time of the attack, but none of them were shot or injured. The suspect fled without taking any money.