Suspect arrested in shooting of Pierce Co. Sheriff’s deputy

FREDERICKSON, Wash. — UPDATE: According to KOMO News in Seattle, the suspected gunman who police believe fatally shot a Pierce County Sheriff’s deputy late Sunday night has been captured.

Thirty two-year-old Frank Pawul was arrested just after 8 a.m. after a Washington State Patrol trooper spotted him and noted him as suspicious, according to Detective Ed Troyer with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

The trooper was guarding an intersection near where police had set up a search perimeter along 42nd Ave. E in the hours after the shooting and contacted the man.

The man originally gave a fake name, but investigators eventually determined he was wanted on three warrants out of Shelton, deputies said. The man was arrested and booked into the Pierce County Jail.

“It’s been a long night,” Troyer said. “It’s a bit of a sigh of relief.”

A second suspect, now identified as 35-year-old Henry Carden, was found dead near Deputy Daniel McCartney during the incident.

Detectives spent the day gathering evidence that they believe makes Pawul their suspect in the shooting, Troyer said. He’s currently being held on his warrants, while an investigation into the murder is conducted, but prosecutors are working to upgrade his booking charge to first degree murder.

During a press briefing on Monday afternoon, Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor credited the “smarts and heart” of his department in making the arrest.

“They had a brother who was taken from them. They stepped up,” Pastor said.

ORIGINAL STORY: A Pierce County sheriff’s deputy, now identified as 34-year-old Daniel McCartney, was shot when he was responding to a burglary in Frederickson, Washington (about a half hour south of Tacoma) around 11:30 p.m. Sunday night. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 2:00 a.m. Monday.

According to KOMO News, the sheriff’s office says McCartney responded to a 9-1-1 call during which dispatchers could hear screaming and some type of altercation. The deputy arrived at the home on 200th St. E. and chased a suspect but was struck by gunfire during the pursuit.

Police have determined that two suspects, a white male and a black male, were involved in the incident. The white male was found dead at the scene, and police are still actively looking for another black male suspect who is believed to be armed and dangerous.

Around 7 a.m. Monday, law enforcement officers said they had exhausted all means of searching in the area of the shooting. They said it is possible that the suspect could have fled in a vehicle and is no longer in the area.

A 2-hour delay for the Bethel School District was announced when police activity was blocking access to the district’s bus facility, but KOMO later reported that the district will be closed for the day as the police continue to investigate the area.

We’ve learned McCartney was a Navy veteran who had been with the Pierce Co. Sheriff’s office since 2014, and was a married father of three young boys.

Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor had this to say of the fallen deputy: “He was one of the people in our agency who stepped up and stepped forward… He believed in what he did. He did what he believed.”

“This is another reminder that our people go out and put themselves at risk, and are too often harmed in the process,” the Sheriff added.

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