A 32-year-old man was shot and killed by a Pierce County sheriff’s deputy after authorities say he stabbed four women outside a home on the Key Peninsula, a fast-moving attack that began with a call about a protection order and ended with five deaths.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner later identified the four stabbing victims as Zoya Shabilykina, 52; Joanne Brandani, 59; Stephanie Killilea, 67; and Louise Talley, 81. The suspect was identified as Aleksandr Shabilykin, 32. Investigators have not released a full account of why the women were outside the home together or how each was connected to Shabilykin, beyond court records showing Shabilykina had sought protection from her adult son in recent years. The deputy-involved shooting is being reviewed by the Pierce County Force Investigation Team, a standard step after a fatal use of force.
Deputies were first dispatched to the 14000 block of 87th Avenue Court Northwest at about 8:40 a.m. Tue., Feb. 24, after a report of a protection order violation, authorities said. As deputies were heading to the address, dispatchers received new information at about 9:30 a.m. that someone had been stabbed. Within minutes, a deputy reported shots fired at about 9:33 a.m., investigators said. Three adult victims were pronounced dead at the scene with injuries consistent with stab wounds, authorities said. A fourth adult victim was taken to a hospital and later died from injuries. The suspect was also found dead at the scene after the deputy’s gunfire.
Witness accounts described a sudden and public scene in a neighborhood of trees, narrow roads and scattered homes near Purdy and the Wauna area. Authorities said at least one victim was attacked in the street in view of onlookers. Officer Shelbie Boyd, a spokesperson for the force investigation team, said deputies had obtained a copy of the order they planned to serve when reports came in of an active stabbing. Neighbors told local media they heard a short burst of gunfire and then steady sirens. One nearby resident, Chris Cardenas, said he was in his driveway when he heard “a series of gunshots” echo through the trees, followed by emergency vehicles rushing toward the scene.
The deaths also hit a wider circle in Gig Harbor, where Brandani and Killilea were listed as volunteer members of the city’s arts commission. City records show the group meets monthly and advises on local cultural projects. The medical examiner ruled each victim’s death a homicide. Investigators have not said how Talley, Brandani and Killilea came to be outside the home that morning, and they have not described whether they were neighbors, friends or visitors. Boyd told reporters early in the investigation that, because the incident started as a protection order call, “somebody involved in this was known,” but officials did not yet have a clear map of each relationship at the scene.
Court filings and public records show Shabilykina had asked the court for protection orders against her son more than once, describing fear and instability that she said had grown over time. In a December 2020 petition, she wrote that her son pushed her and threatened her daughter’s boyfriend with a knife inside the home. In another petition filed in April 2025, she described what she said were worsening mental health problems, including hearing voices and believing he was a god. She wrote that her son told her her “grave has already been dug up,” and she said she feared for her life. The 2025 order required him to stay at least 1,000 feet away from her home, vehicle and workplace, barred him from possessing dangerous weapons, and directed him to follow a treatment plan that included medication, according to court records.
A major question now is why a call about an order led to a deadly confrontation outside the house. Officials have said the order at the center of the initial call had not been served, a step that is often required before it can be enforced. A local report that reviewed the court docket said the system did not show a newer order than the one issued in May 2025, raising questions about what document deputies were trying to deliver on Feb. 24. The sheriff’s office has said deputies obtained a copy of the order with the intent to serve it, and that details around the early calls and timing are part of the ongoing review. Separately, family members said they believed there were warning signs hours earlier, when they tried to get help after noticing what they described as a sharp change in Shablykin’s behavior.
Robert Knowles, who said he is the boyfriend of Shablykin’s sister, told local media the family became alarmed Monday evening in Orting, southeast of Tacoma. Knowles said Shablykin’s sister, Anna, reacted quickly and called police. “That’s not my brother, he has to go,” Knowles recalled her saying. Knowles said Shablykin left before officers arrived, taking a backpack and driving away. He said the next call came early Tuesday from Shabilykina, who told relatives she had been locked out of the home while her son was inside and seemed to be in a severe episode. Knowles said the family expected deputies would reach the house first and take Shablykin into custody. “I just don’t think it had to happen,” he said.
Investigators and local officials have also pointed to prior contacts with police that may help explain the background, without offering a motive for the killings. A local TV station reported Gig Harbor police released body camera video from a 2022 traffic stop involving Shablykin, in which he made unusual claims about not being subject to police authority. In one clip, he told officers, “I am no longer a person or a human,” as he argued over jurisdiction. The same report said court records listed other traffic-related contacts, including driving with a suspended license. Those details, authorities said, do not explain what happened on Feb. 24, but they have become part of the growing public record around a case now centered on court warnings, the mechanics of serving protection orders, and a burst of violence that left a neighborhood stunned.
The Pierce County Force Investigation Team is continuing its investigation into the deputy-involved shooting, and the involved deputy was placed on administrative leave under department policy, officials said. Authorities have not released the deputy’s name or details about how many shots were fired. Investigators have also not said whether the suspect used a single weapon, where it was recovered, or how long the confrontation lasted before the deputy fired. The medical examiner’s work, including final reports, is expected to remain part of the case file as investigators complete interviews, review dispatch logs and examine evidence collected at the scene. Because the suspect is dead, prosecutors are not expected to file criminal charges against him, but officials can still release findings on the use of force and any policy issues uncovered during the review.
In the community around Gig Harbor and Purdy, the impact was visible in small details as the scene was processed. Neighbors described road closures, deputies moving through the area, and the quiet of a rural stretch of the peninsula broken by emergency lights and crime scene tape. One neighbor told local media they had felt something seemed “off” in the past but never expected a mass killing. Others said the speed of the attack was what stayed with them most, a handful of minutes that changed lives across multiple families. Friends and civic groups began sharing memories of the women who were killed, focusing on volunteer work and community ties rather than the court disputes that preceded the violence.
Authorities said the case remains active, with the next public milestone expected to be an update from investigators on the deputy-involved shooting review and any findings about the protection order service process. The medical examiner’s identifications have answered who died, but investigators say key questions about why the victims were together outside the home and how the attack unfolded moment by moment are still being pieced together.
Author note: Last updated February 27, 2026.