2 federal agents injured during drug bust in Grant County

MOSES LAKE — Two federal agents were slightly wounded and a suspect appears to have shot himself during a major drug raid in Central Washington, authorities said Tuesday.

The two agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were shot early Tuesday morning when gunfire erupted during a raid targeting a methamphetamine and heroin drug trafficking organization in Moses Lake.

The agents were wearing bulletproof vests and were struck by bullets or bullet fragments, officials said. Their injuries were not life-threatening and they were released from a hospital later Tuesday morning, officials said.

Authorities believe the injured suspect attempted to kill himself during the gunfight, Grant County Sheriff’s spokesman Kyle Foreman said. The suspect was taken to a Spokane hospital.

About 300 federal, state and local law enforcement officers took part in a series of raids Tuesday in Grant, Yakima and Adams counties, according to a joint press release.

The agents arrested more than a dozen suspects and seized more than 50 firearms, plus large quantities of meth, cocaine, heroin, and cash, the press release said.

A federal grand jury last week handed down an indictment charging 16 people with conspiracy to distribute meth and heroin. Fifteen of those people were arrested Tuesday. They included 11 in Moses Lake, one in Ephrata, two in Yakima and one in Warden, the press release said.