2 dead, 1 wounded in apparent homicide-suicide in Prairie Ridge area

A 40-year-old Pierce County man shot and killed his wife early Saturday before wounding her friend and killing himself, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputies were called about 10:15 p.m. to a home in the 19900 block of Rhododendron Drive in Bonney Lake after neighbors reported hearing several gunshots.

A SWAT team responded to perform a hostage rescue and forced entry into the home.

They found a 33-year-old woman and her husband dead. The woman’s 39-year-old friend was also shot but was expected to survive, the Sheriff’s Department said.

“We don’t know if he shot the friend intentionally or if he fired off because he was mad,” sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.

Detectives believe an argument over drugs prompted the shooting.

The victims had not yet been identified. The county Coroner’s Office said Saturday that it didn’t expect to release identifications of the people involved until Monday.

This story was originally published April 18, 2015 at 2:59 AM with the headline "2 dead, 1 wounded in apparent homicide-suicide in Prairie Ridge area."