A man was arrested after firing a round into the lobby floor of the Columbia Tower early Wednesday morning.
The 19-year-old male victim employee who witnessed the event assisted police with obtaining video surveillance footage of the suspect.
The footage shows the male suspect in possession of the firearm as he exits a building elevator. The suspect proceeds to wave the handgun around near the victim before he fires the shot in the lobby area. Soon after, the suspect exits the building and throws the firearm into nearby bushes.
Police arrived in the 700 block of 5th Avenue just after 3:00 a.m. and observed a subject matching the suspect’s description. When officers attempted to stop the man, he ignored police commands and continued walking northbound on 5th Avenue. Officers maintained a safe distance from the suspect until additional resources arrived so he could be taken into custody.
After the suspect failed to comply to verbal commands from officers, police utilized the 40MM launcher, a less lethal tool, to assist in gaining compliance from the suspect. The 40MM less lethal tool was ineffective in this incident, so police transitioned to using a second less lethal tool, a Taser. The Taser was deployed and allowed officers to safely place the suspect under arrest.
Officers requested Seattle Fire to respond to evaluate the suspect due to the tasing.
The 29-year-old male suspect was booked into King County Jail for unlawful possession of a firearm and his outstanding felony warrant. Police requested additional charges for aiming or discharging of a firearm and reckless endangerment.