Pierce County Sheriff's Office spokesman Ed Troyer called the ambush "a targeted attack" on the four Lakewood police officers as they were preparing to start their shifts at about 8:15 a.m.

Officials at the scene said a lone gunmen burst into the Forza Coffee Co. outlet at 11401 Steele St. South, shot the four uniformed officers as they were working on their laptop computers, then fled the scene.

Two baristas and a handful of other customers were inside the coffee shop at the time of the attack, but none of them were shot or injured. The suspect fled without taking any money.

Troyer described the scene inside the coffee shop as "carnage and a scene out of a horror movie."

Three male officers and one female officer all died at the scene.

About 2 1/2 hours after the deadly ambush, officers identified a white Chevy pickup truck abandoned at 134th Street and Pacific Avenue South that is believed to be the one that the suspect fled in.

Soon after, there was a standoff reported between officers and one or more people inside a residence a few blocks away. It was not immediately known if the standoff is related to the police shootings, but it was still continuing as of 12:30 p.m.

A $10,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to the arrest of the suspect or any possible accomplices, Troyer said. An emergency tip line has been set up, at 866-977-2362, for callers to report any helpful information.

The suspect was described as a black male in his mid-20s to mid-30s, standing 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-10, medium build, with scruffy facial hair, wearing blue jeans and a black coat with a hood.

Troyer said the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department initially responded to a 911 call of shots fired at the Forza Coffee Co. outlet at 11401 Steele St. S. in Parkland.

When deputies arrived, they found four Lakewood Police Officers shot and killed inside the coffee shop, he said.

"Two baristas and a few customers were inside the coffee shop at the time of the shooting. They were not injured but all are in shock and traumatized. It appears the officers were targeted and ambushed by the suspect," Troyer said in a statement.

Within minutes of the first 911 call, hundreds of investigators and police were rushing to the scene. Roads were blocked in the vicinity of the attack.

"I've never seen so many cops," said one witness as officers converged on the area.

The coffee shop where the shootings took place is owned by Brad Carpenter, a retired police officer, KOMO News has confirmed.

The incident is being investigated by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, with assistance from the Tacoma Police Department, Lakewood Police Department, the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management and the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab, Troyer said.

"There will be a large police presence in Pierce County throughout the day as large numbers of law enforcement follow up on leads and tips," he said. "The public in urged to stay away from any police activity."

The deadly shootings come less than a month after Seattle Police Officer Timothy Brenton was shot to death in cold blood as he was sitting in a cruiser with trainee Britt Sweeney on Halloween night. Sweeney was grazed in the neck.

Christopher Monfort of Tukwila has been charged with aggravated first-degree murder in connection with Brenton's death.

For more coverage of the shootings, go to tacoma.komonews.com.