Deputies Lock Down SR-7 During Search For Wanted Fugitive

PIERCE COUNTY, WA — The Pierce County Sheriff's Department has shut down a state route and is asking residents to shelter indoors while they search for a wanted fugitive.

Update, 4 p.m.: The suspect has since been captured and the road reopened:

Just before noon Thursday, the Sheriff's Department announced that it had closed SR-7 in both directions from Alder Lake Park to 91st Avenue E in La Grande. A closure map from the department can be seen below.

Pierce County Sheriff's Department deputies and other law enforcement agencies are reportedly in the area and searching for a wanted fugitive who fled from officers on foot. Residents who live near the closure are being asked to stay inside, lock their doors, and call 911 if they see a "suspicious person" on their property.

The suspect is described as a white man in his 40s, between 5'8" and 5'11" and weighing roughly 200 lbs. He was last seen in camo.

According to an update from officers on scene, the incident started when the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force was searching for a fugitive in the area Thursday morning. They found the suspect, but instead of surrendering, officers say he rammed a task force vehicle with his car and fired several shots at task force members before fleeing on foot. The SWAT team and Air Operations Unit have been called in to assist with the search.

This is the second time the Pierce County Sheriff's Department has asked residents to shelter in their homes this week. On Tuesday, an armed carjacking and shooting in Spanaway had deputies ordering residents to stay inside while they combed the neighborhood with K9 units. Two out of three suspects in that incident have since been arrested. The two incidents appear otherwise unrelated.