The man wanted in connection with two Pierce County homicides was shot and killed by police in Seaside, Oregon, Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank announced on X Wednesday night.

Hayes McCloud, 24, was identified earlier in the day by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) as a person of interest in two killings — the first in Puyallup around 2:40 a.m. and the second in Tacoma shortly after 3 a.m.

On Wednesday night, authorities referred to him as a suspect.

“The suspect has been contacted by police in Seaside, Oregon,” PCSO said in a Facebook post. “We are no longer looking for the suspect and details of the contact and major incident that transpired in Oregon will be available once the investigation is concluded.”

After that announcement, Swank posted an update on X.

“After he killed the person in Tacoma, he drove away. We didn’t know where he went, but he was picked up by a Flock camera in Lewis County around 4 a.m. So we knew he was headed southbound at that point,” Swank’s post said. “The suspect was shot and killed by police in Seaside, Oregon. No cops were hurt. I’m glad he was stopped before he killed anyone else. Great police work!”

The murder suspect from the homicide on Woodland Avenue also shot and killed a person in Tacoma.

After he killed the person in Tacoma, he drove away. We didn’t know where he went, but he was picked up by a flock camera in Lewis County around 4:00 AM. So we knew he was headed…

— Sheriff Keith Swank (@SaveOurSheriff) July 9, 2026

35-year-old killed in Puyallup home early Wednesday

At 2:40 a.m. Wednesday, deputies responded to the 12500 block of Woodland Avenue E. in Puyallup after receiving reports that a man was found dead in a home. Two homeowners were at the scene when deputies arrived.

“The preliminary investigation indicates there was homicidal violence in a bedroom that eventually led outside the home,” the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office reported. “The 35-year-old male was located inside the home with multiple deadly injuries. We have no suspect in custody at this time.”

Second homicide in Tacoma less than 30 minutes later

Just after 3 a.m., police responded to the 6900 block of E. D Street in Tacoma’s Hillsdale neighborhood after multiple people reported hearing gunfire. When officers arrived, they found a man suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.

Officers began lifesaving measures, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Contributing: Frank Sumrall, MyNorthwest 

Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.

Follow @FrankLenziKIRO

The Oregon Country Fair is right around the corner and got an up-close preview of the annual event with generations of revelers expected to return yet again.

Vendors and construction teams were busy setting the venue up on Wednesday. It opens to the public on Friday, and organizers are expecting a big turnout.

For over fifty years, people have come together to enjoy live music, art, food and community at the event in Veneta.

“It has definitely changed and evolved and it’s definitely still holding true to the magic that has started the fair,” said fair attendee Jill Carter.

Carter has been going to the fair for about forty years, but throughout her time there, there’s always one thing on her mind.

“I’ve had a lifelong dream to do the poster, and I’ve been working on applying for a long time, and I got to do it and I’m so excited!”

Carter says over the years, she’s fine-tuned her design proposal to accurately capture the whimsey of the fair.

“In our day-to-day world, we really don’t get to connect on this kind of level of art and whimsey.”

This curated space of art and whimsey is what keeps generations returning to the fair.

“I was at a meeting the other day and somebody was a third generation Oregon Country fairgoer. Their parents were babies here. They were babies here. Now, they’re on crews that help manage the safety of this community,” says Kate Gillespie, the White Bird Rock Medicine crew coordinator.

Gillespie has been working within medical response at the fair for sixteen years.

Before fair goers even arrive, White Bird Rock Medicine works on setting up for the two hospitals provided on site as well as staffing medical crew – which consists of almost 300 medical professionals and mental health crisis workers.

“We are prepared to deal with first aid things like scrapes, bumps, bruises; injured feet are a big thing that we see – all the way up to things like cardiac events and strokes,” Gillespie explains.

And for the attendees they serve, the event is a yearly tradition that is more than just a fair – it’s a chance to catch up with old friends and make new memories.

“I think it’s really like a reunion for a lot of the people that are out here on this property,” says Gillespie.

The Oregon Country Fair runs Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the intersection of Suttle Road and Bus Road in Veneta.

For more information, visit the fair website.

The Oregon attorney general will ask a court to pause Paramount’s PSKY.O $110 billion bid to acquire Warner Bros. WBD.O for 60 days, saying on Tuesday that the company withheld records of its lobbying efforts.

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While Paramount has told the state it will not close the deal before July 16, Attorney General Dan Rayfield said he will ask a Multnomah County court to order the company to hand over records and to delay the deal so the state can review them.

“We’re not going to let Paramount Skydance play hide the ball so they can rush through their massive merger,” Rayfield said in a statement. “Oregonians have a real stake in this deal – in our film industry, in our economy, in the choices they’ll have as consumers.”

A Paramount spokesperson said the information Oregon seeks “has nothing to do with whether this transaction complies with Oregon’s antitrust laws and is not a legitimate basis to delay a plainly lawful, pro-competitive transaction.”

The company has provided the state with documents relevant to the merger, the spokesperson added.

Oregon is seeking documents regarding “Project Warrior,” which was Paramount’s internal code name for efforts to obtain regulatory clearance. The state is also asking for records related to the company’s efforts to lobby the Trump administration for support of the merger.

Paramount CEO David Ellison’s father, billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, has cultivated ties with President Donald Trump, and the company has hired ​former Trump officials.

Oregon is also seeking information on whether Paramount had any role in the U.S. Department of Justice’s statement announcing it had cleared the deal.

While Oregon ordinarily “would afford significant weight” to the DOJ’s determination, the state plans to cite a Wall Street Journal report that officials overrode career staff attorneys at the DOJ who were leaning toward a recommendation to challenge the deal, according to documents to be filed in court that Reuters reviewed.

The DOJ issued a lengthy statement last month saying it believed the deal would “increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem, with benefits for American consumers and workers.”

The company has said the deal would create a stronger streaming competitor to Netflix NFLX.O and Disney DIS.N, and benefit creatives and consumers.

California, New York and ​other U.S. states are preparing to sue to block the deal, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters last month. The states have authority to enforce laws against mergers that they believe would unlawfully decrease competition.

Opponents of the deal, including some actors, writers and media workers, have worried that it would hurt jobs.