Five dead in apartment shooting near Seattle

FIVE people have been killed in a shooting at an apartment complex south of Seattle, including a suspect who was shot by officers responding to the chaotic scene, police in the US said today.

An emergency services vehicle seen near the scene of the shooting, in which five died. Picture: AP

Spokeswoman Cathy Schrock, of Federal Way police in Washington, said officers responded to an emergency call of shots being fired.

On arrival, they spotted two injured men on the ground in a car park, one of whom reached for a gun as the officers moved in to assist them.

Ms Schrock said officers then opened fire. The man was killed but it was not immediately clear if it was from police gunfire.

The other man on the ground and another man in the car park were found dead.

In a search of the apartment complex, police found another man dead in one apartment and the body of a woman in another.

There was no immediate word what triggered the shooting.