Spokane County Deputy Killed in Ambush at Spangle Home as Second Deputy Fights for Life
A Spokane County deputy was killed and a second deputy was left on life support after gunfire broke out at a home in Spangle, Washington, on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Deputies had gone to the home in the 18700 block of South Smythe Road after a domestic violence call in the early afternoon. A woman had run to a neighbor home and said her brother had shot her. When deputies later moved toward the house with a SWAT team, they were met with gunfire. Two deputies were wounded and taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center. One of them died in the hospital overnight. Three people at the property also died, including the suspect.
Quick Facts
| Detail | What we know |
|---|---|
| Date | Tuesday, November 3, 2026 |
| First call | About 2:25 p.m., domestic violence call |
| Location | 18700 block of South Smythe Road, Spangle, Washington, about 18 miles south of Spokane |
| First victim | Woman who said her brother shot her, non-life-threatening wounds |
| Drone finding | A body lying in the yard |
| SWAT approach | About 3:15 p.m., team tried to breach the door and was met with gunfire |
| Deputies wounded | Two, life-threatening wounds, taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center |
| Deputy who died | Died in hospital overnight on November 3, survived by wife and two children, name not released |
| Second deputy | On life support and not expected to survive, he is an organ donor |
| Dead at the property | Three, including the suspect, one in the yard and one inside the home |
| Sheriff | John Nowels: both were young SWAT members with very young families |
| Investigation | Spokane Independent Investigative Response Team, motive remains unknown |
A Domestic Violence Call in Spangle
The call came in the early afternoon. At about 2:25 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, deputies from the Spokane County Sheriff Office were sent to a home in the 18700 block of South Smythe Road in Spangle, Washington, a small town about 18 miles south of Spokane. The call was reported as a domestic violence shooting. Before deputies reached the house, a woman had run to a neighbor home for safety. She said her brother had shot her. She was hurt, but her wounds were not life threatening, and she was treated for them.
Her account gave deputies their first picture of what had happened, and it raised a hard question. If the man who shot her was still inside, who else might be in the house with him, and were they safe. Deputies also learned that the suspect had an active felony warrant, which means a court had already ordered his arrest on a serious charge before this day began. Deputies believed other people in the house could be in danger, and they had to act on that belief while protecting themselves and the people living nearby.
The Drone, the Body in the Yard, and the Decision to Move In
With the suspect believed to be inside and other people possibly at risk, deputies did not go straight to the front door. They used a drone to look at the property from above and from a safe distance. A drone lets officers see a scene without putting a person in the line of fire. What the drone found was a body lying in the yard.
At that point, deputies were dealing with more than a single shooting. A woman had been shot and had escaped to a neighbor home. A body lay in the yard. A man with an active felony warrant was believed to be inside the house. Other people might also have been inside, and deputies had no way to know whether they were alive, hurt, or in danger.
This is the kind of moment in which a SWAT team is called in. A SWAT team is a group of officers trained and equipped for high risk entries, armed standoffs, and rescues. The team plans its approach, covers the exits, and moves in a coordinated way so that no one officer is left exposed. Deputies arrived at about 2:25 p.m., and the team moved toward the house at about 3:15 p.m.
Gunfire at the Door
At about 3:15 p.m., the SWAT team and deputies approached the home and tried to breach the door. A breach is a forced entry, used when officers believe that waiting longer would put lives at risk and that the people inside cannot be reached any other way. The team moved in to get inside the house and find out who was there and what condition they were in.
As they tried to enter, they were met with gunfire. Shots came from inside the home, and two deputies were hit. Both suffered life-threatening wounds. The entry stopped at once, and the focus turned to getting the wounded deputies out and to a hospital as fast as possible. In an ambush, there is no safe place to stand and no time to work out what went wrong. The first job is to stop the bleeding and move the wounded to care.
Both deputies were taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. One was flown there by Life Flight helicopter, the fastest way to move a badly hurt person over the 18 miles from Spangle to the hospital.
Two Deputies, Two Young Families
One of the wounded deputies died in the hospital overnight on November 3. He had been taken there with life-threatening wounds, and despite the care he received, he did not survive the night. His name has not been released, and his family has asked for privacy. That request deserves respect.
What has been shared about him is simple and painful. He is survived by his wife and two children. He was a young member of the SWAT team, and his family is very young. Sheriff John Nowels spoke about both deputies in those terms, describing them as young members of the team with very young families. Behind the uniform, there was a husband and a father whose children will now grow up without him.
The second deputy remains on life support and is not expected to survive. Life support means machines are keeping his body going while doctors wait and watch. He is an organ donor, which means that even in this loss, his organs may save the lives of other people waiting for a transplant.
Three People Dead at the Property
Three people at the property died, including the suspect. One body was found in the yard, the same body deputies had seen with the drone before the SWAT team moved in. Another person was found dead inside the home. The identities of the three people who died at the property have not been released, and the motive remains unknown.
That leaves many questions unanswered, and it is right that they stay unanswered for now. We do not know the name of the person found in the yard, or the name of the person found inside the home, or how they were connected to the woman who was shot or to the suspect. We do not know what led to the first shooting, or why the suspect opened fire when deputies tried to enter. These are facts an investigation must establish, not facts to be guessed at while families are still being told what happened to their loved ones.
The woman who ran to the neighbor home survived with non-life-threatening wounds. Her account, that her brother had shot her, is the starting point for the investigation into the first shooting.
What Happens Next
The Spokane Independent Investigative Response Team is leading the investigation into both the initial domestic violence shooting and the deputy-involved shooting. An independent investigative team is brought in when officers have used force or have been shot, so the facts are examined by investigators who were not part of the response. That independence gives the public reason to trust the findings.
The investigation will have to answer questions in two parts. The first part is the domestic violence shooting: what happened inside the home before deputies arrived, who was there, and how the woman came to be shot. The second part is the deputy-involved shooting: what happened when the SWAT team tried to breach the door, who fired, and how the two deputies were wounded. The motive remains unknown, and officials have not released the identities of the three people who died at the property.
For the community in Spangle and across Spokane County, the days ahead will bring funerals, memorials, and hard conversations about safety, domestic violence, and the risks deputies face. Readers following other recent tragedies across the country can read our report on the Des Moines post office shooting case in which Jennifer Pledger was charged with attempted murder and our report on the Brooklyn Sunset Park fire that left six people dead on November 5.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened in Spangle, Washington, on November 3, 2026?
Deputies answered a domestic violence call at a home on South Smythe Road after a woman said her brother had shot her. A SWAT team trying to breach the door was met with gunfire. Two deputies were wounded, one died in the hospital overnight, and the second remains on life support. Three people at the property died, including the suspect.
Who was the deputy who died?
His name has not been released, and his family has asked for privacy. He was a young member of the SWAT team, and he is survived by his wife and two children.
What is the condition of the second deputy?
He remains on life support and is not expected to survive. He is an organ donor.
Who is investigating the shooting?
The Spokane Independent Investigative Response Team is leading the investigation into both the initial domestic violence shooting and the deputy-involved shooting. The motive remains unknown, and the identities of the three people who died at the property have not been released.
Sources
- USA Today: Washington domestic violence shooting, deputy killed
- Courtroom Insider: Spokane County sheriff deputy injured in Spangle shooting dies, another deputy not expected to survive
Final Thoughts
A domestic violence call in a small town ended with losses that will be felt for a long time. A woman was shot and survived. Three people died at one property. A deputy died in the hospital overnight, leaving behind a wife and two children, and a second deputy remains on life support, not expected to survive. Both were young members of the SWAT team with very young families, and their loss leaves a hole in the sheriff office and in the community it serves. The investigation will, in time, give a fuller account of what happened inside that home and at its door. Until then, the facts are plain and painful, and the families deserve privacy, support, and room to grieve.
