Two officers responded to a call around 3:30 p.m. of a man stealing mail along an arterial street in the city, said Federal Way Police Cmdr. Andy Hwang. They arrived and found a man matching the suspect's description, a male in his 20s carrying a backpack with mail protruding from inside the bag.

When the two attempted to detain the man, he pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the officers, Hwang said. It was unclear whether the man shot at police, he said.

The officers simultaneously drew their service revolvers and fired several shots at the man, who ran a short distance before collapsing, Hwang said. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. "I think he is in critical condition," Hwang said.

The officers, one 49 years old with 19 years' law enforcement experience and the other a 23-year-old with two years' experience, have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation by the Auburn Police Department, Hwang said.

In Tacoma on Saturday, a man was shot and killed by an officer during a routine traffic stop. Pierce County medical examiners would not identify the man Sunday until his next of kin was notified.

The officer, who Tacoma police officials did not identify, was at Tacoma General Hospital, recovering from a gunshot wound to the leg.