A woman who was five months pregnant was shot and killed by King County sherrif's deputies, according to her foster sister. Renee Davis, who suffered from depression had texted a friend on Friday (21 October), to say she was feeling low.

Police officials said they responded to reports of a suicidal individual and attended the residence, based at the Muckleshoot Tribal Reservation, at around 6.30pm local time.

They found a young woman with a handgun and two small children in the house. The youngsters were Davis', ages 2 and 3. Davis also had a third child who was at the home of a family friend.

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"It's really upsetting because it was a wellness check," her foster sister Danielle Bargala told the The News Tribune. "Obviously she didn't come out of it well."

"They tried repeatedly to get somebody to come to the door," Sgt. Cindi West told Komo News TV station. "But they could see two kids running around inside the house."

According to Sergeant West, deputies found Davis, who was of Native American heritage, "armed with a handgun."

Reports from KOMO-TV and KIRO-TV said the woman was threatening to harm herself when deputies responded to the scene. The law officers then fired multiple rounds, fatally shooting Davis, who was five months pregnant. The 23-year-old mother of three was pronounced dead at the scene.

Both deputies have been placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation, per department policy. West said in a statement that one of the deputies is an 8-year veteran assigned to the Muckleshoot reservation, while the other is a King County deputy with 3 years experience.

Bargala said she didn't know if her sister owned a handgun, although Davis did have a hunting rifle. "She loved hunting," Bargala said.

Davis had recently killed an elk and a deer, cutting up the animals herself and sharing the meat among her family. "I still have elk in my freezer," Bargala said.