Man kills wife, self at Washington state cancer center

USPA News - A man walked into a hospital in Washington state on Tuesday morning and opened fire, killing his wife who worked at a cancer treatment center before turning the gun on himself, police said. The exact motive was not immediately known.

The incident happened just after 9:30 a.m. local time when a man entered the Rockwood Cancer Treatment Center inside Deaconess Hospital in Spokane, a city in Washington near the state border with Idaho. He then shot his wife - who worked at the facility - before shooting himself. "Officers were on-scene minutes after the initial call and immediately moved patients and staff to a secure area," said Spokane Police Department spokeswoman Monique Cotton. "The female was pronounced dead at the scene and the male was transported to the hospital`s emergency room for treatment. He was pronounced dead a short time later." Investigators described the shooting as an isolated domestic-related incident of murder-suicide, but a motive was not immediately known. Cotton said Major Crime detectives were still processing the scene, processing the vehicles of the victim and suspect, and interviewing witnesses. She said the children of the victim and suspect were safe with relatives. "This incident is both a family and community tragedy," Spokane Police Chief Frank Straub said. "The Spokane Police Department will thoroughly investigate this incident and continue to work closely with our law enforcement and community partners to address issues associated with domestic violence." Deaconess Hospital remained open despite Tuesday`s shooting, but the Rockwood Cancer Treatment Center is not expected to re-open before Wednesday.