SPANGLE, WASH. — A Spokane County sheriff's deputy is dead and a second is not expected to survive after a SWAT team trying to serve a felony warrant at a rural home came under gunfire Tuesday night, in one of the deadliest nights for Washington law enforcement in years.

Deputies were called to a home outside Spangle, a small town about 20 miles south of Spokane, after a woman ran to a neighbor's house saying she had been shot by her brother and that other people inside were in danger, according to CBS News. The suspect had an outstanding felony arrest warrant, authorities said.

When SWAT team members and deputies moved to breach the door, gunfire erupted from inside the house. Two deputies were struck before other officers returned fire. Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said one deputy died and the other was placed on life support and "is not expected to survive," according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. The suspect was also killed in the exchange of gunfire.

HE IS NOT EXPECTED TO SURVIVE

Early casualty counts from the scene varied overnight as the picture came into focus. Early wire reports put the toll at three dead, including the suspect, with two deputies critically injured; other early accounts counted four dead, including the suspect and one deputy. By Wednesday, officials had confirmed one deputy had died and a second was not expected to recover, with the woman who first raised the alarm also among the injured.

A community in mourning

The deputy who died had not been publicly named as of Wednesday evening, though later reporting indicated he left behind a wife and two children. Neither deputy's identity, nor the current condition of the woman who alerted a neighbor, had been officially released by Wednesday night.

The Washington State Patrol is leading the independent investigation into the shooting, standard practice in Washington for incidents involving law enforcement use of force. Authorities have not released the suspect's name or detailed his relationship to the woman who sought help, and it remains unclear what, if anything, preceded the initial report of a shooting inside the home.

Sheriff's offices and police agencies across the Spokane region offered condolences Wednesday, with several departments posting tributes online as word of the deputy's death spread through the law-enforcement community. Flags at several county buildings were lowered, and neighboring agencies offered to help cover patrol shifts while the sheriff's office grieves.

What's next

The investigation remains active, and officials have not said whether any additional people inside the home at the time of the shooting face charges. No further public briefing had been scheduled as of Wednesday night, and the surviving deputy's condition was not updated after the sheriff's initial statement that he was not expected to survive.