Relatives say they called police the night before investigators say the suspect killed his mother and three neighbors.
GIG HARBOR, WA — A man’s relatives say they sought help after they saw his behavior change, hours before investigators say he stabbed his mother and three neighbors to death on the Key Peninsula, then was shot and killed by a responding sheriff’s deputy.
Authorities have not publicly identified the four stabbing victims, but court records and family statements have linked the suspect, 32-year-old Alexandr Shablykin, to the home where the violence unfolded. The killings, followed by a deputy-involved shooting, have launched an investigation by the Pierce County Force Investigation Team as neighbors and family members question whether the bloodshed could have been stopped.
The case began as a report of a protection order violation at a house in the 14000 block of 87th Avenue Court NW, an unincorporated area near Purdy and the Wauna community, northwest of Tacoma and not far from Gig Harbor. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said it was dispatched at 8:41 a.m. Tue., Feb. 24. By about 9:30 a.m., dispatch received new information that someone may have been stabbed. At 9:33 a.m., a deputy reported that shots had been fired at the scene. Three adult victims were pronounced dead at the scene with injuries consistent with stab wounds, the department said. A fourth adult victim was taken to a hospital and later died. The suspect also was found dead at the scene.
In the days since, relatives have described a fast-moving crisis that they say built over hours, not weeks. Robert Knowles, who said he is the boyfriend of Shablykin’s sister, told local media that the family noticed what he believed were warning signs on Monday evening in Orting, a city southeast of Tacoma. Knowles said Shablykin’s sister, Anna, recognized a sudden shift. “That’s not my brother, he has to go,” Knowles recalled her saying as she called police. He said officers arrived quickly, but that Shablykin left as he realized police were coming, grabbing a backpack and driving away.
Knowles said Shablykin went to his mother’s home in Purdy, where the next calls for help came from the woman who lived at the address. Knowles said she called early Tuesday morning and said her son had locked her out of the house and appeared to be in a psychotic episode. Knowles described family members trying to coordinate a response while also relying on law enforcement to intervene. He said the family was getting ready to drive to the home as Shablykin continued to communicate by text, and they believed deputies would arrive first. Knowles said there were repeated contacts with emergency services and that family members were told to be patient as they tried to piece together what was happening.
Records filed in Pierce County court show Shablykin’s mother had previously sought protection from her son, including protection orders in 2020 and 2025. In applications tied to those orders, she described escalating mental health concerns and alleged threats and abuse. One court record quoted her saying her son had mental health and substance abuse issues and had threatened her by telling her that her “grave has already been dug up.” Other notes in court paperwork described reported grandiose beliefs and hallucinations. A protection order issued in 2025 required him to stay 1,000 feet away from his mother, her home and her vehicle, and to comply with a mental health treatment plan, including medication. It also barred him from possessing dangerous weapons.
A key question for investigators and the family is why the order involved in the initial call had not been served. The sheriff’s office has said deputies were responding to a reported violation of a protection order and obtained a copy of the order with the intent to serve it. In Washington, protection orders typically must be served to be enforceable, and delays can occur if the person cannot be located. Authorities have not publicly explained why the order had not yet been served in this case, and it is not clear whether earlier attempts were made by law enforcement or a process server. The sheriff’s department has said its preliminary timeline is based on dispatch records and initial reports, and it has not described the moments leading up to the deputy firing shots.
Investigators also have not explained how the three neighbors became victims or what brought them outside the home. In early reports, officials said the stabbings occurred outside the residence. The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office has not officially identified any of the victims, and authorities have not released the ages or names of the neighbors who were killed. Without those details, it remains uncertain whether the victims were targeted, whether they tried to intervene, or whether the attack spilled beyond the immediate household. Officials have said the scene involved multiple 911 calls and witness reports as the violence was unfolding.
Neighbors described a sudden eruption of violence in an area better known for quiet streets and wooded lots. Chris Cardenas, who lives a short drive from the street, told reporters he was washing his truck when he heard what sounded like a series of gunshots echoing through the trees. He said sirens continued for about 40 minutes and that he saw a large law enforcement response that included ambulances, investigators and numerous police vehicles. For residents of the Key Peninsula, where many roads are narrow and homes are spread out, the scale of the response underscored the gravity of what had happened.
The deputy-involved shooting is being investigated by the Pierce County Force Investigation Team, a regional group that examines officer-involved shootings. The sheriff’s department said the involved deputy was placed on administrative leave, a standard step during such reviews. Investigators typically collect physical evidence, interview witnesses, review dispatch logs, and analyze video, including any available body-worn camera or patrol car footage, though officials have not said what video exists or when it might be released. After the force investigation is completed, the case is generally reviewed by prosecutors to determine whether the use of force was lawful under state standards.
For Shablykin’s relatives, the loss is tangled with grief and disbelief. Knowles described Shablykin as a generally kind person when he kept up with treatment. “He was on meds… he was a nice guy,” Knowles said, adding that the family loved him and could not imagine him capable of the violence investigators describe. He also said Shablykin had been close to a young family member, and he framed the days before the killings as a scramble to respond to a worsening mental health crisis. “It’s unbelievable,” he said while trying to explain the turn of events.
The timing of the attack compounded the shock for those closest to the family. Knowles said they had been preparing for a vacation and that his girlfriend hesitated to leave, describing what he called a “mother’s intuition” about their child. He said he keeps returning to the idea that there was a narrow chance to prevent the tragedy. “I just don’t think it had to happen,” Knowles said. A fundraising effort has been started to help the family with expenses, and relatives have asked for privacy as they mourn and wait for official identification of the dead.
As of Friday, investigators had not released a full account of the suspect’s movements between the call for help in Orting and the killings in Purdy, and they had not said whether any additional calls or contacts occurred before deputies were dispatched at 8:41 a.m. The next milestones are the medical examiner’s formal identification of the victims and the completion of the force investigation into the deputy’s shooting, which will determine what happened in the final minutes outside the home.
Author note: Last updated February 27, 2026.