Nespelem on edge as police chase active shooter

Police were not giving out any information tonight as officers from various agencies arrived from far away to diverge on Nespelem, where tribal police were searching for an active shooter.

Colville Tribal Emergency Services posted a warning on Facebook about 7 p.m., asking Nespelem residents to stay in their homes. The mayor also issued that plea and added that a car chase was happening with someone shooting at police.

Many commenters on Facebook made statements on social media giving other specifics of what they stated as facts, but none of that could be confirmed. Police aren't commenting and a tribal police dispatcher said no comments would be given by dispatch.

At the EMS headquarters in Nespelem, about a dozen police officers stood outside the front door about 8:40 p.m.

Steve Brown, the chief of the Colville Tribal Police Department, said he could not release any information due to tribal policy and referred me to the director of Public Safety. A woman at the police headquarters identified herself as that official and said they would not be commenting.

People who live in Nespelem area and elsewhere on the Colville Reservation were commenting on Facebook, with several stating the incident had started in Keller where a shooting occurred, an officer shot, and lives lost. None of that could be confirmed.

As of 11:30 p.m. Colville Tribes Emergency Services had not updated information on their Facebook.