Deputies: Murder suspect shot in Snohomish County after multi agency investigation

Members of the King County-based Valley SWAT team opened fire in a Snohomish County parking lot Monday, while pursuing a murder suspect.

Snohomish County deputies responded around 2:40 p.m. to a report of multiple shots being fired in a parking lot of Clearwater Plaza, located in 17500 block of SR 9.

Responding officers found a King County SWAT team, which has been conducting surveillance on a murder suspect nearby and followed him to the parking lot.

When the suspect went back to this car, an unmarked police car drove up behind him. Officers gave the man verbal commands to surrender.

The suspect then drove forward, ramming a bystander, and then drove backwards into the unmarked police vehicle multiple times.

“As I was turning around, I heard this pop, pop, pop, pop, pop,” says Tony Niolu. He says his car was one of the vehicles the suspect rammed into.

Three SWAT team members fired multiple shots into the car, hitting the suspect, deputies said.

The suspect was taken to Harborview Medical Center with what officials think are non-life threatening injuries.

The shooting happened just before 3 p.m., sending shoppers like Erica Davis and her daughter running.

“I pushed her into the pumpkins over there and I told her to just run,” Davis said.

Her daughter Kaydri Chambers adds, “I ran into the store and finally processed and oh somebody must have gotten shot.”

Officials also say there was a child and another passenger inside the car when they opened fire, but neither were physically harmed. It’s unclear what their relationship is to each other and to the suspect, but deputies say the child was reunited with their parent.

There were no other reported injuries.

Two of the other officers worked for the Kent Police Department and one is employed for the Federal Way Police Department.

The Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team is investigating the incident.