The Associated Press
KENT, Wash. -- A man stole a King County sheriff’s squad car Tuesday afternoon, then shot and wounded a man in the process of trying to steal a second car, police said.
A suspect, who was not immediately identified Tuesday evening, was arrested and held for investigation of auto theft, burglary and assault, Kent police spokesman Paul Petersen said.
The wounded man was not seriously injured, Petersen added.
The incident began when someone smashed out a window in a sheriff’s patrol car parked at the Regional Justice Center in this south Seattle suburb. The man was able to start the patrol car and drive off, apparently using a second set of keys stored in the vehicle, sheriff’s Sgt. John Urquhart said.
A few minutes later, the thief abandoned the patrol car and broke into an elderly couple’s home, demanding their car keys.
Petersen said the couple complied, but the suspect was unable to find their car, which was not parked in their driveway.
At some point, a neighbor approached and the thief shot him in the forearm, using a rifle that had been locked in the trunk of the patrol car, Petersen said.
Kent police found a man matching witness descriptions of the thief and arrested him, then found the patrol car and the rifle a short distance away.