Eatonville, WA: Two deputies shot in same county where four cops were killed

December 22, 2009 3:02 a.m. EST

(CNN) -- Two sheriff's deputies were shot and critically injured Monday night in the same Washington state county where four officers were killed last month, authorities said.
Two Pierce County sheriff's deputies were shot while responding to a domestic violence incident at home near the town of Eatonville, south of Seattle, said Hunter George, a spokesman for the county.
The incident involved two brothers and a young woman, said Det. Ed Troyer of the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.
One of the men invited the officers inside the house, while the other man went upstairs. He returned with a weapon and opened fire on the deputies, striking them multiple times, Troyer said.
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The deputies returned fire, killing the alleged shooter, Troyer said.
"There were a lot of rounds fired," according to Troyer.
Both deputies were rushed to nearby hospitals and were in critical condition, Troyer said.
This incident comes in the aftermath of the killings of four police officers.
On November 29, four officers from Lakewood, Washington, were killed in an ambush-style shooting at a coffee shop. The suspect in that attack was shot and killed by police after a two-day manhunt.
Troyer said it was "surreal" to be responding to another shooting that involved officers. His department has led the investigation into the shooting of the four Lakewood officers.
It was unbelievable that this could happen again, Troyer said.