Domestic Violence and Protection Orders

Authorities in Pierce County, Washington, say a 32‑year‑old man fatally stabbed four people Tuesday morning outside a home on the Key Peninsula near Gig Harbor before he was shot dead within minutes by a responding sheriff’s deputy. Deputies were originally dispatched around 8:40 a.m. local time on a report that the man was violating a no‑contact order; they obtained a copy and discovered it was not yet valid because it had never been formally served on him, and were en route to serve it when 911 calls reported active stabbings. Three victims were pronounced dead at the scene and a fourth died en route to a hospital; officials have not released identities or confirmed how the suspect was related to the victims or whether they lived at the residence. Court records show a woman at that address secured a one‑year protection order last May against her 32‑year‑old son, alleging mental‑health and substance‑abuse problems, threats that her grave was "already dug up," disturbing behavior including 'witchcraft/occult' rituals, and harm to her cat, with the order requiring him to stay 1,000 feet away and comply with treatment. It remains unclear why the order was never successfully served before the attack, a lapse that will likely draw scrutiny of local enforcement practices around restraining orders and risk assessment in domestic‑violence and mental‑health cases.