A Tacoma school district spokesman says the woman was shot at about 7:35 a.m. Friday at Birney Elementary before students arrived. The spokesman says the teacher worked in the language resource center helping students one-on-one with reading problems.

The school has about 400 students in grades K-5. Classes were called off for the day.

Police spokesman Mark Fulghum says the suspect and the victim knew each other and were in their 30s.

The News Tribune and KOMO-TV report that the suspected shooter was shot and killed by police in the Frederickson area, which is about 11 miles (18 kilometers) south of the school.