ROY, Wash. -- A wanted 51-year-old man was fatally shot by a Pierce County sheriff's SWAT team member after the man shot at officers late Tuesday afternoon.
Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said the SWAT team was serving a high-risk warrant at a home in the 2500 block of Highway 702 South when the gunfight began.
"Today we were coming over because he threatened to kill neighbors, he threatened to kill deputies and landlords and judges and a lot of different people," Troyer said. "So we got a warrant for him because we thought he was a danger to other people."
The man came outside with an assault fire and began firing rounds at officers and the team's air support, according to Troyer.
"One of our deputies fired a round - one round - and hit him," Troyer said. "He went down from that round and dropped the gun and we were able to get him secured."
No SWAT team members were injured and the man was pronounced dead at the scene. He was identified by the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office as Raymond LaMadeleine.
The gunfire caught the attention of neighbor Brandon Dearinger.
"I was like, 'That's no duck hunter.' That's when I knew it was a high-powered full rifle and it was going 'pop-pop-pop,'" he said. "I was ducking myself because you never know, especially when the suspect's firing in the air, you never know where a bullet's going to land."
LaMadeleine had shot at neighbors earlier in the day, Troyer said, adding the he is known to have a history of violence.
Troyer said LaMadeleine had mental health issues and had been making death threats against the Office of Homeland Security, the US Attorney General's Office and other officials.
He had recently been involuntarily committed and had his guns taken away, but Troyer said he was able to re-arm himself with a Russian assault weapon.
The man had recently told neighbors he was going to create the biggest medicinal marijuana farm in the region and nobody was going to stop him, Troyer said.
Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said the SWAT team was serving a high-risk warrant at a home in the 2500 block of Highway 702 South when the gunfight began.
"Today we were coming over because he threatened to kill neighbors, he threatened to kill deputies and landlords and judges and a lot of different people," Troyer said. "So we got a warrant for him because we thought he was a danger to other people."
The man came outside with an assault fire and began firing rounds at officers and the team's air support, according to Troyer.
"One of our deputies fired a round - one round - and hit him," Troyer said. "He went down from that round and dropped the gun and we were able to get him secured."
No SWAT team members were injured and the man was pronounced dead at the scene. He was identified by the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office as Raymond LaMadeleine.
The gunfire caught the attention of neighbor Brandon Dearinger.
"I was like, 'That's no duck hunter.' That's when I knew it was a high-powered full rifle and it was going 'pop-pop-pop,'" he said. "I was ducking myself because you never know, especially when the suspect's firing in the air, you never know where a bullet's going to land."
LaMadeleine had shot at neighbors earlier in the day, Troyer said, adding the he is known to have a history of violence.
Troyer said LaMadeleine had mental health issues and had been making death threats against the Office of Homeland Security, the US Attorney General's Office and other officials.
He had recently been involuntarily committed and had his guns taken away, but Troyer said he was able to re-arm himself with a Russian assault weapon.
The man had recently told neighbors he was going to create the biggest medicinal marijuana farm in the region and nobody was going to stop him, Troyer said.