Inset: Zoya Anatolyevna Shabliykina, left, and her daughter Anastasiya (GoFundMe). Background: Cops in Gig Harbor, Washington state investigate after Zoya Shabliykina and three others were allegedly killed by her son (Pierce County Sheriff”s Office).
A tragic sequence of events unfolded in Washington state when a 32-year-old man allegedly fatally stabbed his 52-year-old mother and then killed three women who attempted to intervene, as per authorities.
The suspect, identified as Aleksandr Aleksandro Shablykin, was ultimately shot and killed by a Pierce County sheriff’s deputy, according to an official statement. The victims have been named as Shablykin’s mother, Zoya Anatolyevna Shabliykina, and three local residents: Joanne Kathleen Brandani, 59, Stephanie Killilea, 67, and Louise Sandra Talley, 81.
The Pierce County Coroner’s Office confirmed that all victims succumbed to “multiple sharp force injuries.”
The incident began around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday at a residence located on the 14000 block of 87th Avenue Ct. NW in Gig Harbor, approximately 50 miles southwest of Seattle. Law enforcement officers were dispatched to serve a no-contact order to Shablykin, who had already shown up at the home in violation of this order. The order had yet to be officially served, prompting deputies to head to the location around 9:30 a.m.
While officers were en route, several emergency calls were made reporting that Shablykin was actively stabbing multiple individuals. Upon arrival, a deputy confronted Shablykin as he continued his attack, prompting the officer to open fire. Paramedics later declared Shablykin and three of the victims dead at the scene, while the fourth victim passed away at the hospital.
According to a report by the local NBC affiliate, KING, Shabliykina had secured a one-year restraining order against her son in May. The order cited her son’s struggles with mental health and substance abuse, alongside threats he allegedly made, including a chilling remark that her “grave has been already dug up.”
It’s unclear if this was the restraining order cops were serving or if it was a separate one.
Shablykin’s sister and Shabliykina’s daughter Anastasiya Shabliykina told KING that the suspect had not been taking his bipolar medication.
“That was not my brother that did that … It was something else, something evil,” she told KING.
Anastasiya Shabliykina’s partner Robert Knowles said in an interview with The Seattle Times that they were trying to get to the Gig Harbor home after her mother texted her to say the suspect had “taken over the house.” While driving there they heard what the suspect had done to his mother.
“Please, no, no, not that,” Knowles remembered saying.
The family has started a GoFundMe to help with funeral costs. The description says the incident was “rooted in mental health struggles.”
“This devastating event has left them not only grieving the loss of two cherished family members, but also coping with the trauma experienced by three neighbors who selflessly tried to help when they heard cries for help,” the GoFundMe said.
KING reports the three neighbors had strong ties to the Gig Harbor community. Brandani and Killilea were commissioners with the Gig Harbor Arts Commission while Talley was a volunteer with Visit Gig Harbor, per the TV station.
