Four police officers have been shot and killed near McChord Air Force Base.

Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer says that the officers were in a coffee shop near 116th Street and Steele Street on the east side of the Air Force base at about 8:30 a.m.

The officers were reportedly preparing for their shift when they were ambushed by an unknown number of assailants.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the officers involved and to the members of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

Update (10:25 p.m.): KING TV is reporting that police have identified a person of interest in the killings of four Lakewood police officers:

Pierce county sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said they are looking for Maurice Clemmons, 37.

Troyer said Clemmons has an extensive violent criminal history from Arkansas, including aggravated robbery and theft. He has also recently been arrested and charged in Pierce County for assault on a police officer and for rape of a child.

Troyer said Clemmons is one of several people investigators would like to talk to and can’t be called a suspect at this point.

Lakewood Police Chief Bret Farrar identified the four officers who were killed as Sergeant Mark Renninger, and Officers Ronald Owens, Tina Griswold, and Greg Richards. All were veteran police officers with families.

Update (11:00 p.m.): The Seattle Times is reporting that then Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee granted clemency to Maurice Clemmons nine years ago:

Maurice Clemmons, the 37-year-old Tacoma man being sought for questioning in the killing this morning of four Lakewood police officers, has a long criminal record punctuated by violence, erratic behavior and concerns about his mental health.

Nine years ago, then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee granted clemency to Clemmons, commuting his lengthy prison sentence over the protests of prosecutors.

“This is the day I’ve been dreading for a long time,” Larry Jegley, prosecuting attorney for Arkansas’ Pulaski County said tonight when informed that Clemmons was being sought for questioning in connection with the killings.

Clemmons’ criminal history includes at least five felony convictions in Arkansas and at least eight felony charges in Washington. The record also stands out for the number of times he has been released from custody despite questions about the danger he posed.

I’ve never been a Huckabee fan and after this I wouldn’t give him the time of day!

(H/T: Confederate Yankee)

Update (Wednesday, December 2, 2009): Maurice Clemmons, the man wanted in connection with the killings of four Lakewood, Washington police officers on Sunday was shot and killed by a police in south Seattle on Tuesday:

A man accused of gunning down four police officers was shot and killed by authorities on Tuesday in a case that could affect a potential 2012 U.S. presidential candidate who granted him clemency in the past.

Maurice Clemmons, wanted in the Sunday morning fatal shootings of four officers in a coffee shop near Tacoma, Washington, was shot dead by a police officer in south Seattle, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said.

I suspect police would have preferred a different outcome but I doubt anyone is going to be shedding a tear of Clemmon’s passing.

A gunman opened fire Monday at an army recruitment center in Little Rock, Ark., killing one army recruiter and seriously wounding another, FOX16.com reported.

A man in a black SUV drove to the recruitment office and began shooting at around 10:19 a.m., a spokesman with the Little Rock police department told FOX News.

Police reportedly have a suspect in custody.

Jonn Lilyea has more at This Ain’t Hell.

Update (Tuesday, June 2, 2009):

The shooter has been identified as 23 year old Carlos Bledsoe (A.K.A. Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad) a Muslim convert with a grudge against the U.S. military. Bledsoe plead not guilt to capital murder at his arraignment today:

A Muslim convert who said he was against the U.S. military pleaded not guilty Tuesday to capital murder in connection with the shooting of two soldiers outside an Arkansas recruiting center.

One soldier died in the attack Monday, police said.

Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad, 23, was ordered held without bail at a hearing Tuesday in Little Rock. He is charged in the death of Pvt. William Long, 23, of Conway, outside the Army Navy Career Center in Little Rock.

“This individual appears to have been upset with the military, the Army in particular, and that’s why he did what he did,” Little Rock Police Lt. Terry Hastings said.

“He has converted to (Islam) here in the past few years,” Hastings said. “We’re not completely clear on what he was upset about. He had never been in the military.

“He saw them standing there and drove up and shot them. That’s what he said.”