GIG HARBOR, WA – A Pierce County Sheriff’s deputy fatally shot a 32-year-old man who was actively stabbing people at a home where his mother had previously filed a protective order alleging he conducted occult rituals and claimed to be an Egyptian god.
The deadly confrontation occurred Tuesday when the deputy responded to reports of multiple stabbings at a residence in Gig Harbor. Four adults died from stab wounds before law enforcement arrived, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.
Court records reveal the suspect’s mother filed a protective order against her son in April 2025, detailing disturbing behavior that included what she described as “occult rituals” and “witchcraft” conducted inside their shared home.
“[He’s] doing witchcraft/occult behavior” and “rituals in my home, damaging personal belongings,” the woman wrote in her petition, according to records reviewed by KOMO News. The elderly disabled woman also alleged her son was “hurting my cat” and “thinks an Egyptian God.”
The protective order petition described an incident where her son removed items from the home and caused a strange smell to emanate from the garage, triggering smoke detectors. “The smoke detector was going off, and my son was acting delusional,” she wrote. “Evidence of occult rituals was present.”
The woman’s petition also claimed her son had physically and mentally abused her, and that he told her “her grave had already been dug.” A protection order was issued in May 2025 following these reports.
On the day of the fatal incident, the sheriff’s office had received a tip that someone planned to violate the protective order at the residence. While a deputy was responding to that call, multiple witnesses reported that a man had begun stabbing people inside the home.
The lone deputy from the Peninsula Branch arrived to find the suspect actively stabbing someone and shot him dead, according to authorities. The identities of those involved and their relationships to each other have not been released.
Chris Cardenas, who lives near the scene, told the Associated Press he heard the gunshots. “All of a sudden I just heard like a series of gunshots,” he said. “You could really hear it echoing through the trees.”
The investigation into the mass stabbing and deputy-involved shooting remains ongoing.
