Police responded to a burglary call at approximately 2:30 a.m. Saturday in Lake Tapps and the event escalated, resulting in the shooting death of one of the suspects.

A woman reported to police she watched two suspects walk toward her detached garage, which has an upstairs apartment where her mother-in-law lives.

The woman locked herself in the bathroom and called 911.

According to Pierce County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Ed Troyer, when police arrived at the scene one of the three suspects fled on foot into nearby woods and two entered a white Honda Accord.

The driver, 23-year-old Ion Ungureanu of Renton, steered the vehicle toward an officer and police fired, hitting the driver.

The vehicle crashed to a halt against a tree after travelling through a residential fence.

The driver died inside the vehicle at in the 1400 block of Tacoma Point Drive East near Lake Tapps, according to Troyer. The other suspect, who was a passenger was taken to Tacoma General Hopital by East Pierce Fire and Rescue and his injuries are not life-threatening.

Officers from Auburn, Bonney Lake and and Sumner assisted in searching for the suspect who fled on foot. K9 units and a helicopter assisted in the search, but the suspect remains at large.

Investigators have identified the man in the hospital – a 25-year-old – and have tentative identification on the other suspect – a white male in his 20s, said county detective Sgt. Todd Karr, who was at the scene.

Troyer said investigators believe the burglary was related to organized crime.