Update March 19th: The male suspect in this incident is now in custody. He was arrested Sunday evening in Shoreline for outstanding warrants. This remains an active and on-going investigation conducted by our detective.
Officers were dispatched to a “shots fired” call at a motel in the 2400 block of Aurora Avenue North Sunday night. Two men, employees of the motel, were slightly injured when they were struck by bullets that ricocheted off the ground. The injuries were not life-threatening and Seattle Fire treated both men’s superficial grazing wounds at the scene.
Officers responded to the motel around 9:45 pm Sunday for the call and located the two victims. The victims stated they got into an argument with the male suspect and his girlfriend over late rent payment and excessive visitor foot traffic. They went on to say that the suspect fired a gun toward them, and then ran away on foot, while his girlfriend fled in the opposite direction.
Officers located a 9mm pistol magazine with live rounds and several spent shell casings on the ground at the motel where the shooting occurred. A K-9 team responded and began to track the suspects. During the search, K-9 located a .45 caliber handgun and a 9mm handgun on the ground.
The suspect and his girlfriend were not located, however, they have been identified. Motel employees informed officers that the suspects still had property inside the motel room.
Officers applied for a search warrant to search the room. Once obtained, officers served the warrant and recovered additional firearms inside, including some that had been reported as stolen.
Detectives will handle the follow-up investigation.