A man was shot and killed outside the Spokane Valley Library Tuesday morning in the 10100 block of East Sprague Avenue. Spokane Valley Police Chief Dave Ellis said there was no active threat to the public.
Calls reporting shots fired came in at about 11:30 a.m., according to The Spokesman-Review. Deputies responding to 911 calls found a man with a gunshot wound, and first responders performed lifesaving efforts, per Ellis. Deputies and Spokane Valley firefighters were unable to save him, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Big Country News Connection.
Caller Claims Involvement, Leads to Detention
Law enforcement received a phone call from a person claiming involvement in the shooting and saying they were a few blocks away, Ellis said. Officers detained the caller as a suspect and recovered a weapon nearby. Investigators believe the shooting was an isolated incident; Ellis said he was unaware of any reason to connect it to a shooting the previous day.
Both the Spokane Valley Police Department and the Spokane County Sheriff's Office were present at the scene. Roads near the scene, including the area around the Herald Road and Sprague Avenue intersection in Spokane Valley, were expected to be closed for three or four hours, according to Ellis.
Library's Status, Ballot Box Questions Linger
Ellis said he did not think the shooting was related to people dropping off their ballots at the library, according to KXLY 920 News Now. Reports differ on what happened to the library itself afterward. Big Country News Connection reported that the library remained open, though anyone wanting to access it had to use the north side of the building. KXLY, however, reported that the library closed for the day at 1:30 p.m. because of the investigation.
NonStop Local's live report said the story would be updated as the situation developed.
The shooting comes amid a string of recent gun violence cases in the Spokane area. In a separate incident, police arrested a man late Monday night on suspicion of fatally shooting someone on Spokane's South Hill earlier that same morning, according to NonStop Local KHQ. In another earlier Spokane Valley shooting, the Spokane County Medical Examiner's Office identified the person who died as 17-year-old Carter Cochran, a Lewis and Clark student, per a separate NonStop Local KHQ report.
A separate South Hill shooting
The Spokesman-Review reported that a separate fatal shooting occurred early Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, at the Pine Rock apartment complex near East 53rd Avenue and Fiske Court on Spokane’s upper South Hill. No arrests had been made at the time of that report. The Spokesman-Review said police responded around 5 a.m.
