by Police in Washington state are investigating three suspects after two people were found dead on a tribal reservation and a responding officer was shot.
The Colville Tribal Police Department told The Associated Press it had responded to a call Thursday in Keller, west of Spokane, and found two bodies.
A replied officer, who according to the department ran into a vehicle while leaving the scene, was shot in the arm and is now recovering well from his injuries.
Police have so far identified two of the suspects, Curry Pinkam and Zachary Holt.
The men are now in custody, KXLY reports.
Police described the underlying incident as a shooting in which a brother and sister were killed. The victims have not yet been identified.
“Public safety is our top priority as we try to arrest these suspects,” the Colville Tribes Emergency Services wrote Friday on their Facebook page, where the agency is posting updates on the safety of the investigation. “We encourage the community to stay in their homes until this situation is resolved.”
Local police and sheriff’s agents, as well as the FBI, border patrol, and Washington State police are assisting in the search for the third suspect.
Schools in the cities of Nespelem, Keller, Wilbur and Creston are closed due to ongoing investigations.
“Right now, our hearts are heavy and we are in support of the entire Keller community,” wrote the school district covering Wilbur and Creston on its Instagram page.
Police cars were photographed around a house in Nespelem.
The 1.4 million acre reserve is home to approximately 9,300 people.
Last month, a stabbing in a First Nation community in Saskatchewan killed 10 people and injured numerous others.
Myles Sanderson, one of two brothers suspected in the attacks, died in early September shortly after being taken into custody, with police describing the man as suffering from “medical distress” which did not appear to be self-inflicted.
His brother, Damien, was also found dead during a manhunt in a grassy area near a James Smith Cree Nation home, with what Royal Canadian Mounted Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore said was they were “visible wounds … not believed to be self-inflicted”.
