The Pierce County Medical Examiner will release the victims’ names after notifying relatives.
TACOMA, Wash. — Pierce County detectives are examining a bedroom where a woman, her 24-year-old son and the family dog were found shot to death Tuesday on the Key Peninsula after a man returned home from work and called 911, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies were dispatched at 1:27 p.m. to the 7400 block of 185th Avenue NW near Vaughn and arrived to a secured but chaotic scene. Inside, they found two victims and a dog with apparent gunshot wounds. Investigators said they recovered a firearm and that evidence so far indicates the incident was contained to the home. Detectives did not announce arrests or describe a suspect and said early findings did not suggest an ongoing risk to nearby residents. The sheriff’s office asked for patience as it completes interviews and awaits autopsy results.
Crime scene technicians placed markers on the bedroom floor, collected shell casings and swabbed surfaces for DNA and gunshot residue. Detectives canvassed the neighborhood for cameras that might show movements at the house in the hours before the discovery. The caller remained on scene and cooperated with interviews, authorities said. A tow truck removed at least one vehicle for processing while deputies managed intermittent road closures on the narrow two-lane approach to the property.
Officials have not released the victims’ names or relationships beyond describing them as a mother and her adult son. The sheriff’s office did not provide information about who owned the gun, whether additional weapons were present or how many shots were fired. Investigators said they are working to establish a precise timeline, including when the victims were last seen alive, messages sent earlier in the day and any calls for service to the address in recent months. The medical examiner’s office will determine cause and manner of death and will confirm identities.
Key Peninsula communities like Vaughn sit among stands of fir and cedar west of Gig Harbor, where homes are set back from the roadway and neighbors often rely on cameras and social media groups for updates. Deputies said a nearby unit’s proximity shortened response time. The sheriff’s office’s major crimes unit routinely partners with the medical examiner and state crime lab, which can take days to return test results. While homicides are relatively rare on the peninsula, officials said the department treats each as a full-scale forensic inquiry.
As evening fell, deputies guarded the driveway under rotating blue and red lights while detectives loaded sealed evidence bags and folded a tripod used for diagramming the room. “We will share more when we can do so without compromising the investigation,” a department spokesperson said at the scene, noting that updates would follow autopsies and scheduled interviews.
As of Thursday morning, the sheriff’s office listed the case as an active homicide investigation with no wider public threat. The next official update is expected after the medical examiner completes autopsies and notifies relatives.
Author note: Last updated January 30, 2026.