Community Police & Fire

Investigators identify deputy who shot suspect in Wauna stabbings

The deputy who shot and killed Aleksandr Shablykin outside a home in Wauna on Feb. 24 is a 25-year veteran of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.

In a news release on Friday, March 27, The Pierce County Force Investigation Team identified the deputy as Carl Shanks, 57. The team, which investigates incidents involving use of force by law enforcement, said the investigation is ongoing.

Shablykin fatally stabbed four women, including his mother, in the incident on 87th Avenue Court NW. The Pierce County Medical Examiner said Shablykin, 32, died of multiple gunshot wounds. 

Shablykin previously killed his mother, 52-year-old Zoya Shablykina; Stephanie Killilea, 67; Joanne Kathleen Brandani, 59; and Louise Sandra Talley, 81. 

Surviving members of the Shablykin family told Gig Harbor Now that Aleksandr struggled with bipolar disorder and stopped taking his medication shortly before the incident. 

Shanks was involved in another fatal shooting in 2017, according to articles published in the Kitsap Sun and The News Tribune newspaper of Tacoma.

Brent Heath, 35, led law enforcement officers on a 12-mile chase after fleeing a traffic stop on Sept. 21, 2017. Spike strips ended the chase near Port Orchard.

Shanks fired multiple shots into Heath’s vehicle. The 35-year-old died from his wounds about a year later.

In 2021, Pierce County agreed to pay $3.5 million to Heath’s family to settle a lawsuit.