A 29-year-old airman stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington killed his wife and two small children before committing suicide, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday.
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Before killing himself at a house in the Frederickson area, just east of the base, the unidentified airman called 911 early Tuesday morning and said he had killed his 33-year-old wife, 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son, the department said in a release on its Facebook page.
The victims were identified as Samantha Field and the couple's children, Ava and Ashen, according to the county medical examiner's office. The alleged shooter was Clint Field.
The sheriff’s department said that early information from military investigators suggested the suspect had recently been despondent over a pending divorce, and may have been treated at some point for depression-related issues. The department had never been called to the house before, and had no indication of a history of domestic violence.
This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as events develop.
Information from the Associated Press was included in this report.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
