US police officers shot dead in ambush
Victims had been going over some paperwork
Four police officers were shot dead in a targeted ambush near a US air force base in Washington state, law enforcement sources said yesterday.
Pierce County Sheriff's Office spokesman Ed Troyer said the officers were sitting in a coffee shop before their shift started when at least one gunman entered and started shooting at around 8.15 a.m. (1615 GMT) local time.
"We have somebody out there who blatantly went in and opened fire on four police officers, killing all four of them," Mr Troyer said following the shooting near McChord Air Force base in Tacoma, around 35 miles south of Seattle.
Mr Troyer did not disclose any information about the identities of the victims, saying only that the officers had worked in law enforcement in Washington state for their entire careers.
He said authorities believed the men had been specifically targeted, noting that staff and other customers at the coffee shop at the time of the shooting had not been shot at.
"It was definitely an ambush target situation, there were two baristas and some other customers in there. None of them were hurt or shot at or aimed at," Mr Troyer said. "It was not a robbery. Gunman came in there and opened fire on the four police officers."
Police said police believed only one gunman was responsible for the attack although law enforcement "may also be looking for another person."
The suspected gunman was described as a "black male in his 20s or 30s" Mr Troyer told reporters.
"He walked in with a handgun, opened fire multiple times and fled the scene," he said.
The gunman was described as scruffy-looking and fled on foot after the attack. "We all hope that somebody from the public may have heard or seen something or knows the person who did this," Mr Troyer said. Mr Troyer said the victims had been going over some paperwork ahead of their shift at the time of the shooting.