Arrest made after 6 shootings Wednesday on King County highways

The Washington State Patrol (WSP) has made an arrest after six shootings unfolded Wednesday night on King County highways.

The suspect, 28-year-old man from Auburn, was arrested at home as he was getting back into his car, according to KIRO Newsradio. He was found with a semi-auto handgun, ammunition and a spent shell casing, all found in his car. He was charged with a drive-by shooting and assault.

“We have every reason to believe that when troopers saw the vehicle leaving the residence last night, he was leaving to commit another series of shootings,” Captain Ron Mead told KIRO Newsradio. “Further investigative work remains, including awaiting ballistic results that may connect the suspect beyond the two shootings we have him arrested for to other shootings.”

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Authorities are linking two of the shootings to the driver of a light blue Nissan 350Z. WSP Trooper Rick Johnson told KIRO Newsradio that the driver is suspected of firing at a driver on Interstate 5 south near the South 320th Street exit in Federal Way.

A gray pickup truck is also connected to one of the other incidents.

#Shooting The @wastatepatrol needs info. A shooting occurred SB I-5 near S 320th injuring one. Subsequently another shooting occurred NB I-5 near 200th. Both shootings involved a suspect vehicle described as potentially a blue Nissan 350Z. 1/2

— Trooper Rick Johnson (@wspd2pio) December 7, 2023

“Twenty minutes later, we got another call of a very similarly matching suspect vehicle firing shots at another vehicle, northbound I-5,” Johnson said.

That shooting happened near the South 200th Street exit. The Nissan driver was last seen exiting the freeway in Tukwila.

One person was injured in the first shooting. As of Thursday morning, Harborview Medical Center said they are in “satisfactory” condition.

At 11:39 p.m., troopers said the driver of a gray pickup truck fired at another driver on I-5 S near the South 320th Street exit. Despite being in the same location as the first shooting, Johnson said it is “confirmed to not to be tied to the others.”

The victim was not hit by gunfire, and WSP said there is no description of the attacker.

More from Sam Campbell: Auburn Police search for suspect in overnight shooting that left one woman dead

More shots were fired on southbound State Route 167 near Ellingson Road in Pacific. No injuries were reported in this case, and WSP has not released a description of the suspect’s car.

Troopers say more drivers reached out to them telling they were also shot at on the freeway that same night.

Authorities could not immediately confirm the motives for any of the shootings.

Editors’ note: This story was originally published on Thursday, Dec. 7. It has been updated multiple times since then, including on Friday, Dec. 8.

Contributing: James Lynch, KIRO Newsradio

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