Four Lakewood police officers shot to death in cold blood at Parkland coffee shop

This is horrible... just horrible...

Four local police officers were killed this morning at a Parkland-area coffee shop, and dozens of investigators backed by search dogs and a helicopter were hunting for their killer.

Witnesses described the killer as a black man, 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-9, in his 20s or 30s, with scruffy facial hair and wearing a black coat and blue jeans.

He walked into the Forza coffee shop at 11401 S. Steele Street about 8:30 a.m. and opened fire on the four officers, who were at a table doing pre-shift paperwork.

Investigators have appropriately launched a massive manhunt to find the suspect who committed these acts of evil. A special tips line has been set up at 1-866-977-2362 and a $10,000 reward is being offered.

The four officers - three men and one woman - were sitting at a coffee table working on their notebook computers at the time of the shooting. According to news reports, they were wearing bulletproof vests, but the vests did not prevent their cold-blooded killer from ruthlessly gunning them down, execution style.

How many more police ambushes have to happen before we do something about the lax rules that make it easy for criminals to get their hands on guns?

As Seattle Times commenter Iris Germanica observes (in response to other commenters who argue everything would be just peachy if we're all armed):

You say we're naive to think we'd have less violence in society if guns were banned. I could say you're naive if you believe everyone who has a gun is going to use it respectfully for self-defense.

So let's quit calling each other names, and work together to see how we can stop the violent anger percolating all around us. If people weren't so hair-trigger angry all the time, they'd buy fewer guns in the first place. Let's concentrate on social justice.

Maybe we could consider working together as a gift to the families of the officers who were slain last night in memory of their loved ones, instead of all this mean-spirited arguing in the shadows.

Amen.

NPI extends its deepest condolences to the families and colleagues of the slain officers. This is a terrible tragedy, and we pray that the person who committed it will be caught and punished appropriately in a court of law.

There will be a prayer vigil tonight at the Tacoma Champions Center at 6 PM to remember the officers and show solidarity for their families.