The Spokane County Medical Examiner's Office identified the man killed in Sunday's police shooting as Kenneth R. Dennis after an autopsy Tuesday. He died of gunshot wounds, but the medical examiner would not release how many.

Dennis, 26, became the fifth person killed by law enforcement in Spokane County since August after police said he armed himself with a knife during a domestic violence investigation early Sunday.

The names of the two Spokane police officers involved have not been released, but one has been identified as a 48-year-old sergeant with 18 years of experience and the other as a 31-year-old officer with two years of experience.

According to a news release, Spokane police officers were dispatched at 3:52 a.m. to 5726 N. Elgin St. for a report of domestic violence. An officer arrived on the scene at 3:57 a.m. At 3:59 a.m., a second officer arrived. Shots were fired three minutes later, at 4:02 a.m. At 4:08 a.m. the Spokane Fire Department arrived, followed by an ambulance at 4:13 a.m.

Investigators say they found a large knife near Dennis.

A multiagency team comprised of officers from the Washington State Patrol, the Spokane Police Department and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting.

Sunday’s is the seventh in which law enforcement officers have shot Spokane County residents since Aug. 25, when a sheriff’s deputy killed a Spokane Valley pastor.

Five of the shootings have been fatal. Spokane Police Department was involved in three fatal shootings last year, including a March incident on the South Hill. The Spokane County Sheriff's Office was involved in two, with the last two shootings having occurred in 2006. SPD had one in 2007 and two in 2009, but neither agency was involved in a fatal shooting in 2008.

If anyone would like to talk to The Spokesman-Review about Dennis, please call (509) 459-5534.

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