Inset: Zoya Anatolyevna Shabliykina, left, and her daughter Anastasiya (GoFundMe). Background: Cops in Gig Harbor, Washington state investigate after Zoya Shabliykina and three others were allegedly killed by her son (Pierce County Sheriff's Office).
A 32-year-old Washington state man allegedly stabbed his 52-year-old mother to death before he killed three other woman who intervened and tried to help the victim, according to authorities.
The suspect, Aleksandr Aleksandro Shablykin, was shot dead by a responding Pierce County sheriff's deputy, the agency said. Cops identified the victims as the suspect's mother Zoya Anatolyevna Shabliykina and three other women who lived in the area: Joanne Kathleen Brandani, 59, Stephanie Killilea, 67, and Louise Sandra Talley, 81.
All of the victims died of "multiple sharp force injuries," per the Pierce County Coroner's Office.
Deputies say the carnage unfolded shortly after 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at a home in the 14000 block of 87th Avenue Ct. NW in Gig Harbor, which is about 50 miles southwest of Seattle. Cops were responding after Shablykin showed up to the home, violating a no-contact order. Since the order was not yet valid because it hadn't been served, deputies traveled to the home to do so around 9:30 a.m.
While enroute several witnesses called 911 to report that Shablykin was stabbing multiple people. A deputy arrived and confronted Shablykin who was still stabbing people before opening fire. Paramedics pronounced Shablykin and three others dead at the scene. The fourth victim died at the hospital.
Local NBC affiliate KING reported that Shabliykina obtained a yearlong restraining order against her son last May. She wrote that her son had been suffering from mental health and substance abuse issues. He allegedly threatened her and said that her "grave has been already dug up."
It's unclear if this was the restraining order cops were serving or if it was a separate one.
Shablykin's sister and Shabliykina's daughter Anastasiya Shabliykina told KING that the suspect had not been taking his bipolar medication.
"That was not my brother that did that … It was something else, something evil," she told KING.
Anastasiya Shabliykina's partner Robert Knowles said in an interview with The Seattle Times that they were trying to get to the Gig Harbor home after her mother texted her to say the suspect had "taken over the house." While driving there they heard what the suspect had done to his mother.
The family has started a GoFundMe to help with funeral costs. The description says the incident was "rooted in mental health struggles."
"This devastating event has left them not only grieving the loss of two cherished family members, but also coping with the trauma experienced by three neighbors who selflessly tried to help when they heard cries for help," the GoFundMe said.
KING reports the three neighbors had strong ties to the Gig Harbor community. Brandani and Killilea were commissioners with the Gig Harbor Arts Commission while Talley was a volunteer with Visit Gig Harbor, per the TV station.
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