Auburn police search for suspect in shooting of boy

A teenage boy from Auburn is in the hospital recovering from a gunshot to the stomach.

Police are searching for the person who shot him on Tuesday night, according to a Facebook post from the Auburn Police Department (APD). The shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. in the 600 block of L Place Southeast, near Highway 18 and a few miles from the Outlet Collection.

“One juvenile male was found at the scene with at least one gunshot wound to the abdomen,” APD spokesman Kolby Crossley told KIRO Newsradio.

The boy, whose age has not been released, was found with a gunshot wound and was taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition. Auburn Police do not have any suspects but do not believe the shooting was random.

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Neighbors in the closely knit community heard the shots and took cover.

“I was sitting in my room and I heard pow! And I looked and there was a flash and then next thing more shots,” neighbor Carla Jones told KIRO Newsradio. “We got on the floor and then in about three or four minutes more shots and they were in the back of the house.”

Neighbor Destiny Bentley said she heard the commotion.

“I heard the bullets,” she said. “First, they flew in the front. Then they flew in the back. They hit twice. Four bullets in the front, four bullets in the back, and everybody dropped. Then we called 911.”

Police are looking for suspects after a shooting in Auburn. (Photo: James Lynch, KIRO Newsradio)

Bently said the boy is just 15 years old and, while police say it was a targeted shooting, Bentley doesn’t believe the teen was the actual target.

“It has to be targeted,” she said. “It has to be because ain’t no way they shoot in the front and then hit in the back. That was targeted and I don’t think it was meant for that little boy.”

Authorities urge anyone with information to contact the Auburn Police Department’s Tip Line at 253-288-7403. The shooter fled the scene immediately after the incident, and the circumstances leading up to the shooting remain unclear.

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This incident is part of a series of recent shootings in Auburn. KIRO 7 reported that in May, a man was killed by sheriff’s deputies during a high-risk civil eviction order involving both the King County Sheriff’s Office and the Auburn Police Department. In July, four people were injured in an ambush shooting.

In response to these violent incidents, community safety meetings are being organized. One notable meeting is scheduled for Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at the Auburn Church of Nazarene, with both the mayor and the police chief expected to attend. The city of Auburn, in partnership with the Auburn School District, is also holding a series of neighborhood meetings focused on community safety in each of Auburn’s six policing districts, with a city-wide session on Saturday for residents who cannot attend during the weekdays.

Contributing: KIRO 7

Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email him here. 

James Lynch is a reporter at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of James’ stories here. Follow James on X, or email him here.