Two Washington sheriff’s deputies were fatally shot while trying to enter a home where authorities feared people were being held hostage after a woman reported being shot in a domestic violence incident.
Spokane County deputies Mason Acheson and Parker Perry were hit by gunfire from inside the house near Spangle on November 3, according to the sheriff’s office.
Acheson died after being taken to a hospital. Perry was initially kept on life support while his family arranged for organ donation, and authorities subsequently identified both deputies as having died.
The emergency began around 25 minutes after 2 p.m., when a woman called for help after being shot. Responding deputies learned that the suspect had an active felony warrant and might have other weapons.
With additional victims possibly inside, officers requested a SWAT response. The wounded woman was hospitalized with injuries believed to be non-life-threatening.
Perry, a K-9 deputy, answered the call with his dog, Brego. Around 15 minutes after 3 p.m., he joined officers approaching the residence and forced entry, the sheriff’s office reported. Gunfire struck Perry and Acheson as the team attempted to get inside.
Other deputies returned fire, moved their wounded colleagues to cover and began emergency treatment. Medical helicopters were requested, and authorities closed portions of Interstate 90 and U.S. Highway 195 to speed transportation to the hospital, according to the Washington State Patrol.
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The sheriff’s office and Spokane Valley Police Department mourned the deputies and pledged assistance to their families. “They bravely moved toward danger to protect others they did not know,” the agencies stated. “They are true examples of selfless service and dedication.”
After the initial exchange, Spokane police assumed control of the scene, with additional SWAT teams from Spokane and Kootenai County responding. A drone sent into the home found the suspect dead.
The medical examiner identified him as Ryan Larsen, 37, and determined that he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to The Spokesman-Review.
Two other people found dead were identified as Suzanne Larsen, 72, and Rebecca Larsen, 45. A family obituary described them as the suspect’s mother and sister, the newspaper reported.
“It was a very tragic day in Spokane County,” Sheriff John Nowels told reporters. “A lot of families have been affected.”
Acheson and Perry both served in the same Washington Army National Guard infantry battalion. Acheson enlisted in 2011 and became a sergeant, serving in Poland between 2021 and 2022 and earning three Army Commendation Medals. Before joining the sheriff’s office in 2022, he spent eight years as a Washington State Patrol trooper and firearms instructor.
At the sheriff’s office, Acheson worked as a SWAT sniper, providing protection for colleagues entering dangerous situations. “In the face of danger, he stepped forward to preserve life,” the department stated.
Perry joined the sheriff’s office in 2020, spent three years on SWAT and became a K-9 deputy in 2025. He entered the National Guard in 2017, reached the rank of captain as a military intelligence officer and received two Army Commendation Medals. The sheriff’s office said he responded to the Spangle call “on his own, without prompting,” rather than waiting to be assigned.
Both deputies were married and had two children. Perry and his wife were expecting a third. The sheriff’s office said his organ donations would allow him to “continue to serve others with the gift of life.”
In a separate domestic violence case in New Jersey, a man who had been released from prison barely a month earlier was charged with murdering his girlfriend after witnesses reported hearing an argument and gunfire.
Ricardo A. Ferrera, 32, allegedly shot Christina Cruz, 30, twice in the living room of a Franklin Township home Monday. A witness in a nearby bedroom told police he heard the couple arguing, followed by two shots, a thud and sounds of Cruz gasping for breath, according to an affidavit.
A woman living upstairs with her three children rushed down after hearing the shots and found Cruz on the floor. She told investigators that Ferrera said
“I have to go,” before leaving in a vehicle. First responders arrived around 35 minutes after midnight, found Cruz face down and pronounced her dead shortly afterward.
Ferrera had been released September 30 from South Woods State Prison, approximately 33 days before the killing, NJ.com reported. He had served time after a 2022 incident in Vineland involving shots fired at two women traveling in a vehicle.
Court records indicated that the woman driving Ferrera told police he had threatened her with a gun and ordered her to follow the other vehicle. He had received a five-year sentence.
Authorities charged Ferrera with first-degree murder and weapons offenses in Cruz’s death. The accusations in the new case have not been resolved at trial.
In Oklahoma, police investigating a welfare check in Heavener found 20-year-old Stephanie Strock dead in October. She was seven months pregnant, and investigators described her injuries as consistent with homicide.
Police located her boyfriend, Austin Morrison, 28, walking nearby. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation reported that evidence suggested he had been with Strock that night and had assaulted her.
Morrison was arrested on two murder counts, one involving Strock and the other her unborn child, and booked into the LeFlore County Jail.
Strock’s friend Cathy Ritter told KFSM-TV that the young woman had endured an abusive relationship and difficult circumstances. “I think Stephanie should have been somewhere before all this tragedy happened, and I think it would have been avoided, and I think her baby would still be alive,” Ritter stated.
