Deputies: Man shot after allegedly attacking a couple in University Place

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Two men have been shot in University Place, Washington after one reportedly attacked the other as he was walking with his girlfriend, authorities said.

Pierce County sheriff’s deputies responded to the shooting Tuesday around 5:30 a.m. on 40th Street West, southwest of Tacoma, The News Tribune reported.

The boyfriend was found with a gunshot wound to the leg, and one of the suspects was found lying in the grass nearby with at least one gunshot wound to the chest, deputies said.

Both men were transported to St. Joseph Medical Center, authorities said. The suspect is listed in critical condition.

The couple told detectives that they were walking down the street when they noticed two men appeared to be following them.

“He said the suspect grabbed him by the throat and said, ‘This is how it’s gonna go down,’” sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.

The boyfriend told deputies he was afraid for his life and shot the other man once or twice, before the second suspect fled the scene.

A pistol was found at the scene, deputies said. An investigation is ongoing.