Officer-involved shooting at Marysville Costco ends with car fire, one officer injured

A shooting involving a Marysville police officer broke out at a Costco at the Twin Lakes Shopping Center, prompting a significant police response and an investigation from the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team (SMART).

According to the Marysville Police Department (MPD), the officers are “OK, and the suspect has been accounted for.” The suspect was killed at the scene, MPD Public Information Officer Mandy Kruger told KIRO Newsradio, while one officer suffered from injuries.

Officer involved shooting just occurred in the area of the Costco. Officers are okay and the suspect is accounted for. News media to please stage at MOR Furniture parking lot.

— Marysville Police (@MarysvilleWAPD) January 8, 2025

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MPD officers pulled the suspect over for a routine traffic stop near the Costco at approximately 8 p.m. Tuesday, and an altercation between the suspect and officers began. During the altercation, a police officer was reportedly dragged by the suspect’s vehicle, according to Kruger.

The suspect drove a short distance before crashing into the exterior of the Costco, causing the car to erupt in flames. Shots were then fired by a Marysville police officer.

“Towards the tire center, you can see a pretty charred and burned up white car, a four-door car that we believe was involved in this whole incident,” KIRO 7 TV reporter Samantha Lomibao said on the scene Tuesday night.

The injured officer from the altercation was taken to a local hospital and was released overnight. The shopping center was placed under lockdown until police confirmed there was no ongoing threat.

“I was at the register, and I looked over towards the doors and just saw a bunch of smoke, and all the employees were talking about something urgent going on,” Brian, who was at Costco during the shooting, told KIRO Newsradio. “I decided I’m not going to go anywhere near whatever is happening.”

His car was among many that had to be left behind for the night due to police tape blocking off most of the property.

Locals seem unphased after officer-involved shooting in Marysville

On Wednesday afternoon, neighbors like Jeremy Clark and Sadie Reid came out for walks to survey the damage.

They were surprised that, after a police shooting, a crash and a fire, there was visibly little out of order. Parking spaces that were filled by patrol cars just 12 hours prior were now crowded with grocery shoppers.

“We didn’t expect Costco to be open today,” Clark told KIRO Newsradio.

He and Reid were driving with their children Tuesday night when they saw the massive police response from multiple city departments.

“We figured something’s got to be on and popping,” Reid said. “We saw all the smoke pluming and then more cops were shutting down the block in the area.”

That led the couple to tell their children it was time to go home — and stay home.

“We weren’t sure if (the suspect) ran from police so we were going to stay inside with the doors locked and the windows closed,” Clark said. “It was bedtime for (the kids) anyways, so we told them when they woke up that everything would be safe again.”

By late Wednesday, investigators still hadn’t identified the suspect in Tuesday’s alleged fight with police. It also remained unclear what exactly prompted the original traffic stop, or how the suspect died.

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MPD officers were not able to confirm if the shots were fired by the officer who was dragged by the suspect’s vehicle or by another responding Marysville police officer, citing that the SMART-led investigation is still gathering information. SMART is determining the use of force by the responding officers.

“Our agency will not be providing any further information,” Marysville Police said on X. “This incident is now under the jurisdiction of the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team, SMART.”

SMART is a team of investigators, evidence technicians, records specialists and public information officers from various Snohomish County law enforcement agencies and Washington State Patrol, who respond to, and investigate, police use of force incidents.

Contributing: Sam Campbell, KIRO Newsradio

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest and producer of the Seattle Seahawks podcast, The Reset with Gee Scott. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.