Man who stabbed four to death in Washington state had history of mental health issues | Washington state
A man who was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy after fatally stabbing four people outside his mother’s home near Gig Harbor, Wash., on Tuesday morning was the subject of domestic violence protective orders that noted mental health and substance abuse problems dating back at least five years.
Records reviewed by The Associated Press show that the woman living at the address obtained a 12-month protection order against her 32-year-old son in May. In the decision, it was stated that he was struggling with substance addiction and that he threatened his mother by saying that her “grave had already been dug”.
Records show the mother told authorities that her son “threatened me, abused me both mentally and emotionally, performed witchcraft/occultic acts and rituals in my home, damaged personal belongings, harmed my cat… I am an elderly, disabled woman and he took advantage of me and my health.”
The 32-year-old man was shot and killed by a deputy from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office when he came to serve his protection notice. A stabbing was reported around 9.30am and the man, who has not yet been identified, was killed around 9.33am.
Seattle Times It was reported that the unnamed mother had been pressing for two protection orders since December 2020. In early protection orders, it was stated that the woman’s son had mental health problems and threatened her daughter with a knife at home.
In her petition to the Pierce County Superior Court last April, the woman said her son was delusional and saw himself as an “Egyptian god.” When he returned home, he found that his cat was missing and the pictures hanging on the wall were gone.
The court granted a protection order requiring him to leave his mother’s home where he was living and stay 300 meters away from the property. He was also banned from possessing a gun and told to follow a mental health treatment plan prepared for him, which included medication.
The investigation into the incident is being carried out by an expert team from Pierce County. One aspect of the investigation may be why the mother’s protective order appeared to not have been served on her son, which is why deputies were first called to the home Tuesday morning.
Associated Press contributed reporting
