Man shot dead by sheriff’s deputies near Franklin Pierce High. Here’s what we know

Peter Talbot, Jared Brown
·2 min read
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A man who was reportedly holding a grenade Friday morning on train tracks east of a high school near Parkland was shot and killed by Pierce County deputies, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the object he was holding was actually a grenade. Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Sgt. Darren Moss initially said the man was down, and a bomb squad had been called to the scene near Franklin Pierce High School, 11002 18th Avenue East. In an update shared on Twitter, the department said the man had died.

112th Street East was shut down between Portland Avenue and 18th Avenue while law enforcement and emergency responders were on scene.

A bomb squad investigates a reported grenade, that a man was holding when he was shot and killed by Pierce County deputies, on the train tracks near the corner of 112th Street East and Portland Avenue in Tacoma, Wash. on March 24, 2023. No officers where injured.
A bomb squad investigates a reported grenade, that a man was holding when he was shot and killed by Pierce County deputies, on the train tracks near the corner of 112th Street East and Portland Avenue in Tacoma, Wash. on March 24, 2023. No officers where injured.

Moss said deputies responded at about 9:10 a.m. for a 911 call reporting threats. He said deputies shot the man about an hour later. He wouldn’t go into further detail about the initial 911 call or what led to the shooting. In a video posted to the department’s Twitter, Moss said deputies followed the man on the train tracks until just beyond 112th Street East, when deputies called out shots fired.

At 9:56 a.m., dispatch recordings indicate a deputy spotted the man on the train tracks near Little Vic’s Tavern at 99th Street East and Portland Avenue.

“He pulled some pin. I don’t know if it’s a grenade pin or not,” the deputy said on the recording. “But he’s walking the tracks right now... Object still in his hands.”

The man indicated to deputies that he was walking home, according to a dispatch recording from 10:03 a.m. A dispatcher said the state Department of Licensing had his address listed as about 20 miles southeast in Graham.

Three deputies followed the man nearly a mile south on the train tracks near 112th Street East at 10:07 a.m., according to dispatch recordings. About five minutes later, at 10:12 a.m., a deputy reported over the radio “shots fired” near the intersection of 112th Street East and Portland Avenue.

Deputies asked dispatchers to notify the Pierce County Force Investigation Team, or PCFIT, of the shooting at 10:21 a.m., a recording showed.

PCFIT is a consortium of local law enforcement that independently investigates member agencies’ uses of deadly force in the county.

The high school and Ford Middle School, located just north of state Route 512, were put on modified lockdown, school district spokesperson Joel Zylstra said. Typically, modified lockdowns mean entrances to the building and classrooms are locked but instruction continues. He said school resource officers notified the district of the police activity, and the lockdowns began at about 10:30 a.m. Zylstra said there was no reason to believe the incident was a threat to the high school.

Deputies from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department inspect the scene where a man reportedly holding a grenade was shot by a deputy on the train tracks near 112th Street East in Midland on Friday, March 24, 2023.
Deputies from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department inspect the scene where a man reportedly holding a grenade was shot by a deputy on the train tracks near 112th Street East in Midland on Friday, March 24, 2023.

This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.