Three people are dead, including the suspect, and two Spokane County sheriff's deputies are critically wounded after a shooting and a firefight with responding officers near Spangle, in eastern Washington state, on Tuesday, November 3, the Associated Press reported, quoting Sheriff John Nowels.

Deputies responded to a home in Spokane County, which borders Idaho, at around 2:30 p.m. local time after a woman told her neighbour that she had been shot by her brother, Sheriff Nowels said at a news conference. The Spokane County Sheriff's Office said deputies were responding to a domestic-violence call involving a weapon.

Source: Associated Press

How the afternoon unfolded

The wounded woman reached a neighbour's home and raised the alarm, and deputies converged on the property north of Spangle, near Smythe Road and U.S. Highway 195. What began as a response to a woman already shot escalated into an exchange of gunfire as officers moved on the home, and by the time the shooting stopped, three people were dead — among them the suspect — and two deputies were down with critical wounds.

Sheriff Nowels said the two deputies were fighting for their lives. The Washington State Patrol said the wounded deputies were taken to a Spokane hospital, and Providence, which runs Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, said it was treating three people from the shooting near Spangle, according to KXLY 920 News Now's running updates from the scene. The sheriff's office corrected an early State Patrol report that had put the number of wounded officers at three: it was two deputies who were shot.

Source: KXLY 920 News Now

Highway 195 and I-90 shut for the rescue

The emergency response closed the area's two main road corridors. Highway 195 was closed at Smythe Road, north of Spangle, and both directions of Interstate 90 were also shut down so the wounded deputies could be moved quickly to hospital. By about 4:09 p.m., the Washington Department of Transportation said both directions of I-90 were back open and northbound Highway 195 had reopened, while southbound Highway 195 remained closed from I-90 to Smythe Road. The State Patrol said there was no suspect at large.

The place, and why this call was so dangerous

Spangle is a small farming town in southern Spokane County, on the U.S. 195 corridor that runs south from the city of Spokane toward Pullman and the Idaho border country. Spokane County, in Washington's far east, borders Idaho, and its sheriff's deputies cover large rural stretches where backup can be many minutes away. Domestic-violence calls are widely regarded by law-enforcement agencies as among the most unpredictable and dangerous responses, because officers arrive at a home where emotions are high, the people involved know the layout, and — as investigators say happened here — a weapon may already have been used before police arrive.

For Punjabi truckers and other freight drivers who run Interstate 90 across Washington and U.S. 195 toward the Palouse, the double closure was a reminder of how a single rural emergency can seal both the interstate and its main parallel route at once, leaving long detours on county roads.

What happens next

The sheriff's office investigation continues at the Smythe Road property, and the dead are expected to be formally identified through the county's usual medical-examiner process before names are released to families and the public. Further updates are expected on the condition of the two deputies at Sacred Heart, and on when the remaining southbound Highway 195 closure fully lifts. Awaaz Punjab will update this story as the sheriff's office releases verified details.