Washington Police Kill Armed Soldier Who Had Just Returned From Afghanistan

Oct. 24--Lakewood police shot and killed an armed Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier early Sunday morning during a confrontation on his street.

Trent Lloyd-Thorpe, 32, was pronounced dead in the 4800 block of Yew Lane Southwest, where neighbors said he lived with his fiancee and two children.

The incident started just after 1 a.m. when a man called 911 to report Lloyd-Thorpe had either been shot or had shot himself and was lying in the street.

Police, who said Lloyd-Thorpe had been attending a nearby party before the shooting, arrived within a minute and found the injured man in the street.

"The radio traffic was 'multiple shots fired,'" Lt. Dave Guttu said. "The next radio traffic came that officers had been involved in the shooting."

Investigators are still trying to figure out what led up to the shooting.

Rusty Foster was inside his house when he heard a single gunshot about 1:05 a.m. He waited a few moments and then went outside with a flashlight.

Foster said he found Lloyd-Thorpe lying in the street, fumbling with a semi-automatic pistol and clearly distressed.

"He was trying to sit up and had a pool of blood behind him," Foster said. "He had a gun, for sure."

After Lloyd-Thorpe mumbled that he was OK, Foster said, he went inside to call for help.

Neighbors reported hearing about 15 shots after officers arrived. Several heard police yelling at Lloyd-Thorpe to get down and drop the gun.

"I heard the cops yelling 'Get down' or something to that effect," said James Farrow, who said he turned off all the lights when officers moved into his yard and took cover behind his car.

At least a dozen yellow evidence markings remained in the neighborhood Sunday afternoon where police picked up shell casings. Some went through a wooden fence, several littered Farrow's yard, one struck a gutter pipe in a nearby home and one was found inside Foster's hubcap.

A woman who answered the door at Lloyd-Thorpe's house declined to comment.

Neighbors said Lloyd-Thorpe moved into the neighborhood a month ago and had recently returned from Afghanistan.

"He was a soldier, and he arrived here in early October," JBLM spokeswoman Catherine Caruso said.

She said policy prohibits her from releasing more information about Lloyd-Thorpe until his family has been notified.

Four officers were placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure for an officer-involved shooting.

No officers were injured.

Stacia Glenn: 253-597-8653

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