A suspect shot two victims in the 2300 block of South Massachusetts Street Tuesday night, resulting in the death of one victim and leaving the second critically injured. Officers responded and exchanged gunfire with the suspect, and the suspect died at the scene.
At 9:16 p.m., a caller reported hearing a shot fired near 24th Avenue South and South Massachusetts Street. Additional callers reported seeing a man firing a gun in the same area. When officers arrived on scene they heard multiple gunshots. The suspect walked towards the officers, raised his firearm and fired at them. Officers returned fire, striking the suspect. Some of the officers began providing aid to the suspect, while others searched the area for victims of the suspect. The two victims were found in a vehicle parked in the parking lot of 2300 South Massachusetts Street. The Seattle Fire Department arrived to take over emergency care and medics declared the suspect deceased. SFD medics transported both of the victims to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. One of the shooting victims died during transport to the hospital.
The Crime Scene Investigation Squad responded to process the scene, and detectives from the Homicide Unit are investigating.
The Force Investigation Team will investigate the officer involved shooting. Representatives of the Office of Police Accountability and the Office of Inspector General responded to the scene.
Per policy, the department will release video of the incident within 72 hours.
UPDATE: 2/10/21
The suspect’s firearm:
UPDATE: 2/10/21
The Seattle Police Department is releasing body-worn video associated with the officer-involved shooting on Tuesday night. SPD is also releasing private surveillance video that shows the suspect approaching a vehicle and briefly engaging the occupants.
In addition, SPD is releasing the audio of two 911 calls associated with this incident.
This matter remains under investigation by both the Force Investigation Team and Homicide detectives. This post will continue to be updated as information becomes available.
UPDATE: 2/11/21
At the briefing the night of the shooting, the department received, and released, information indicating a possible relationship between the victims and the suspect. As the investigation has progressed, it now appears that there is no connection between the victims and the suspect. Detectives continue to investigate.
UPDATE: 2/18/21
The Seattle Police Department is releasing the names of the six officers involved in this shooting: Officer Eli Juarez was hired in 2018. Officer Timothy Meyer was hired in 2017. Officer Nam Nguyen was hired in 2009. Officer Landon Steiger was hired in 2009. Officer Preston Turk was hired in 2016. Officer Joshua Vaaga was hired in 2016.