SEATTLE — Dozen police held positions around a house early today where a suspect accused of fatally shooting a Tacoma police officer hours earlier was believed still barricaded inside.

The officer was shot multiple times while responding to a domestic violence call Wednesday afternoon.

Tacoma Police spokeswoman Loretta Cool said the officer was pronounced dead at the hospital after nightfall.

“We’ve suffered a great loss and I think the community has suffered a great loss. I don’t know how to put that into words,” Cool said.

After the death of the officer, who still hasn’t been publicly identified, a procession of law enforcement officers from around the region escorted the body from the hospital to the county medical examiner’s office.