U.S. Congressman Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, Washington District 8, released the following statement after police announced the suspect in the Lakewood officers shootings had been shot and killed:

“I commend the law enforcement agencies and every officer involved in the hunt and capture of the suspected killer in the case of the Lakewood officer shootings. By the brave work of those involved, this suspect was stopped without another officer or citizen harmed. Through it all, we must remember these brave officers, and the families and friends they leave behind. We must join together as a community to provide the encouragement and support they need to sustain them through the moments, days, and months to come.

“In the aftermath,” Reichert continued, “we must also ask the difficult but necessary questions: How did this happen? Why was this person not in prison, and what can we do in the future to prevent this sort of heinous crime? We owe it to the brave officers who lost their lives, we owe it to their families and friends, and we owe it to all society to find the answers to these questions and address whatever lessons we learn from them.”