Police identify 2 girls who were with alleged Alderwood Mall shooter
Jul 13, 2024, 12:45 PM | Updated: 12:47 pm
Police swarm Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood after shooting on July 3. (Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
There are new developments in last week’s deadly shooting at Alderwood Mall. Jayda Woods-Johnson, 13, was killed.
Two groups of teenagers got into an altercation near the food court around 6 p.m. on July 3 when a person fired a gun, hitting the girl, Lynnwood police Deputy Chief Patrick Fagan told KIRO 7. Police said the girl was an innocent bystander.
On Wednesday, the Lynnwood Police Department reached out to the news media and to the public through social media for help in identifying two girls who were with alleged gunman Samuel Gizaw, 16, before the shooting.
“It’s very important that we identified the two females who were with the shooter right before the incident,” Lynnwood Police Spokesperson Maren McKay said. “We’re trying to put the pieces together to put the best case we can forward.”
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And on Thursday, they did just that — identifying the girls with the public’s help.
However, that was one of two goals for Lynnwood Police. The other is to find the handgun used in the shooting. It’s unclear just how critical that piece of evidence is, but police have another very important reason for wanting to find the gun.
“We are asking anyone with information on the whereabouts of that firearm to please let us know and please turn it into police,” McKay said. “You will not be arrested if you turn that weapon in. We are more interested, right now, in getting that off the street, so it’s not used again in another violent crime.”
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It was a tip from the public that helped police identify the girls. They hope the public can now help them find the gun.
“They’ve always been a great help when we send out social media, pleas for information,” McKay said. “The community has been really responsive, and we can’t do it without the community.”
If you have any information about the whereabouts of the gun, call Lynnwood Police at 425-670-5623 or 911.
Contributing: Steve Coogan and Bill Kaczaraba, MyNorthwest
James Lynch is a reporter at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of James’ stories here. Follow James on X, or email him here.
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