Man who stabbed four to death in Washington state had history of mental health issues

Authorities investigate the scene after reports that a man fatally stabbed multiple people in Gig Harbor, Washington, on Tuesday. Photograph: John Froschauer/AP

A man shot dead by a sheriff’s deputy after he fatally stabbed four people outside his mother’s home near Gig Harbor, Washington, on Tuesday morning was the subject of domestic violence protection orders recording mental health and substance abuse issues stretching back at least five years.

Records reviewed by Associated Press show that the woman living at the address had obtained a 12-month protection order against her 32-year-old son in May. The order noted that he struggled from substance abuse, and had threatened his mother saying that her “grave has been already dug up”.