By Elise Takahama and Sara Jean Green
The Seattle Times
WOODINVILLE, Wash. — Two Washington deputies were injured in a gunfight with an armed man, who was fatally shot in the exchange, said a King County Sheriff’s spokesperson.
The shooting occurred Monday afternoon near the Beaumont Apartments in Woodinville, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Tim Meyer.
The deputies, who are both men in their 50s, responded to the apartment complex around 12:15 p.m. after reports of “suspicious circumstances” possibly involving a “prowling of vehicles,” said Meyer. When they arrived, they spotted a man walking outside the apartment complex with “some sort of case” slung over his shoulder.
The deputies attempted to talk to the man and he pulled out a weapon and fired a round of shots at the deputies, who returned fire, Meyer said. The deputies shot the man, who died at the scene.
Meyer said he didn’t know what prompted the escalation, and added both deputies are hospitalized in stable condition. Both were wearing bulletproof vests, he said. One deputy is a 23-year veteran and the other has been with the sheriff’s office for five years, Meyer said.
It’s unclear if any vehicles were broken into.
Meyer said he didn’t know the last time Woodinville saw an officer-involved shooting, adding it’s an “extraordinarily safe community.” Woodinville has long been one of 10 cities to contract the Sheriff’s Office for police services.
Though it was initially reported one of the deputies was critically injured, the 55-year-old deputy was listed in satisfactory condition at Harborview Medical Center on Monday afternoon, said hospital spokesperson Susan Gregg.
The other deputy was taken to EvergreenHealth Medical Center in Kirkland, where he was in stable condition, a spokesperson said.
Under Initiative 940, approved by voters in 2018, an outside police agency is required to investigate the deadly, officer-involved shooting. Meyer said the Seattle Police Department’s Force Investigation Team will lead the independent investigation.
The red and gray apartment complex, which sits on top of a hill just off Highway 522 in Woodinville, is usually quiet, residents said.
Angela Sabo, 41, said she was watching TV when she heard a round of gunshots outside. She lives on the third floor of one of the Beaumont Apartment buildings.
“I looked out on my porch, and thought, ‘No way,’ ” said Sabo, who has lived in the Woodinville building for more than two years.
She said she heard sirens blaring down her street and helicopters above the building around 1 p.m.
“I started crying. I know it’s a safe neighborhood, but it goes to show there can be crazy anywhere,” she said.
The shooting doesn’t make her feel less safe though, she added.
“It’s a great community to live in, period,” Sabo said. “We never thought this would happen here.”
One of her neighbors, Jerome Jefferson, also said he was startled to hear four or five shots ring out Monday afternoon, then see police cars rush up the hill.
“Definitely sad,” Jefferson, 41, said. “I’m shaken. ... I’m just happy my kids were at school.”
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