Five dead in Washington state shooting and standoff

They tried to negotiate with the man for about 3 hours before he finally walked out of the home and shot himself.

He called the scene “horrific”.

In the dark, he said, he “assumed they were target shooting, which they had a tendency to do once in awhile”.

The ordeal began Friday morning in the city of Belfair when the gunman called a Mason County deputy saying he had “shot some people and had a gun to his head”, Spurling said. The SWAT team is enroute Outside of Belfair.

The names of the gunman and victims have not been released.

Police vehicles line the road near a rural property near Belfair, Washington, February 26, 2016 in this handout photo provided by Mason County Sheriff’s Office in Shelton, Washington. Relation to shooter is not confirmed yet. She left the area by ambulance shortly after 12 p.m. Her condition is unknown but deputies said she was not shot and did not have life-threatening injuries. The man who lived there owned a heating and air-conditioning business. He says the wife had two teenage sons who were adopted from Russian Federation during a previous marriage. The oldest had just graduated from high school.

A 12-year-old girl was found on the property but wasn’t seriously hurt, authorities told KING5.

It was common for the family to do shooting practice, Pigott said, and that’s what he thought of when he heard the gunfire.

“Apparently she’s OK”, Spurling said.

Jack Pigott, who lives down the road, says he heard gunshots Thursday night but none Friday. “I tell you, I’d take her if I could, if they’d let me”.

Multiple agencies remain on scene to continue the investigation. The incident became known as the Erlands Point Massacre. We will update as more information becomes available.