By Dennis Box-The Courier-Herald

Bonney Lake was the scene of an attempted homicide and the apparent suicide of 45-year-old Kent D. Curtis June 2.

Police officers were dispatched to the 9800 block of 192nd Avenue East at 4 p.m. after a 48-year-old woman called to report her roommate had been shot.

When the first officer arrived at the scene, he observed the 45-year-old male victim running from the residence. The officer called the man to his vehicle and observed several flesh wounds on the right side of the victim's face and neck.

The man told the officer he was doing OK, considering he had just been shot. He said the man who shot him was called Peanut, but he thought his name was Kent and he was wearing black clothing.

The officer led the injured man to East Pierce Fire and Rescue emergency personnel who treated him at the scene before transporting him to an area hospital.

The woman inside the residence told officers by phone the suspect was no longer in the home. The woman and her 67-year-old boyfriend came out the front of the residence. She told officers she had not seen the suspect since he fired shots into the bedroom from the front of the house and then walked to the backyard.

Officers established a perimeter around the crime scene and nearby houses were evacuated using the department's armored vehicle.

Officers from Buckley, Sumner, Puyallup and Pierce County assisted in the coordinated search for the suspect and the Puyallup Police Department's K9 search dog was brought to the scene.

A Bonney Lake officer spotted the suspect lying face down in some tall grass behind a shed on the property.

The search dog approached the suspect. A shotgun was found under the man, who was pronounced dead by the Pierce County Medical Examiner at 5:30 p.m.

According to Police Chief Mike Mitchell, Curtis lived in the shed at the rear of the property. Mitchell said a dispute over a woman appeared to have been a motive in the crime.

Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@courierherald.com