Authorities in Washington state are still trying to piece together exactly what happened in a mass shooting that left four people and a gunman dead in a small town about 30 miles west of Seattle.

At around 9am on Friday morning, a man who has since been identified as 51-year-old David Wayne Campbell phoned an officer with the Mason County Sheriff's Office to say that he had shot his family and was going to kill himself next.

Chief Deputy Robert Spurling of the Mason County Sheriff's Office told VICE News that a deputy had previously given a business card to Campbell, which is how he was able to place a call directly to a specific law enforcement officer.

"Sometimes it's just someone in a crisis, just imagining things," Spurling said, explaining that police were initially skeptical of Campbell's claim. "When they got there, they verified he did have a gun, he was in crisis, and we set up containment."

A SWAT team by several deputies encircled Campbell's property in a rural area southwest of Belfair, a town of about 700 located on an isthmus that connects the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas in the Puget Sound. For about two hours, Spurling said, police tried communicating with Campbell to figure out "what we were dealing with and what his intents were," and whether or not he had hostages.

Campbell was flushed out of his house when the SWAT team fired tear gas inside. He walked outside and shot himself in front of the officers who were gathered in front of the property.

Three bodies were found in a separate structure that authorities described as an "out-building." The victims were identified by the county coroner's office as Lana J. Carlson, 49, Quinn Carlson, 16, and Troy Carlson, 18. The name of a fourth victim is being withheld by authorities pending notification of next of kin.

A 12-year old girl managed to escape the bloodbath without being shot, and was escorted from the premises by paramedics during the police negotiations with Campbell. She is reportedly his "relative," but officials couldn't confirm if she was Campbell's daughter.

'She's the only living person who survived. She's going to need some thoughts and prayers.'

"She's the only living person who survived" Spurling said. "She's going to need some thoughts and prayers."

Spurling said the young survivor was taken into custody by Child Protection Services, and that family members have reached out. Spurling added that she will be able to help authorities piece together what happened.

As far as a motive for the mass shooting, Spurling says it's "just speculation at this point."

"There's so much going on, so many different pieces, we're trying to paint a picture of what happened," he said.

Spurling said Campbell had previous run-ins with law enforcement, but declined to offer details about those incidents.

Jack Pigott, who lives close by, told the Seattle Times that he heard gunfire just after 8pm on Thursday night. "The gunshots, I figured, was target practice," Pigott said. "I never thought more about it."

On Friday morning, Pigott said he turned on his television to see SWAT cars on his street. "My God that's my driveway" Pigott said. "I'm kind of surprised this happened up here in my paradise."

Pigott told the Associated Press that the couple living in the house had been married for four to five years, and that the wife had two teenage sons adopted from Russia during a previous marriage, and one daughter adopted from China. Pigott also said that Campbell had recently been hospitalized for unknown reasons, and that he was taking a lot of medication after he was discharged.

Campbell ran a family-owned heating and air conditioning business. Home owner records indicate that Campbell and Lana Carlson, the victim, shared the residence where the standoff occurred, though it is not clear whether that was still the case.