King County bus murder case may have been unprovoked attack
Nov 1, 2023, 4:28 PM | Updated: 10:29 pm
Crime scene for bus murder in White Center. (Photo: Kate Stone/MyNorthwest)
(Photo: Kate Stone/MyNorthwest)
A deadly shooting on a King County Metro bus in White Center last month may have been an unprovoked attack, according to new court documents.
The shooting happened on October 3 as a King County metro bus was traveling on 15th Ave SW, approaching SW Roxbury Street, in White Center.
King County prosecutors say 21-year-old Marcel Wagner may have been sleeping when 17-year-old Miguel Rivera Dominguez shot him five times at point-blank range. Court documents indicate both Wagner and Rivera Dominguez boarded the bus in Burien at different stops but did not speak or interact with each other.
After riding together for around 12 minutes, the charging documents state Dominguez, who was wearing a ski mask and black clothing, “Pulls a handgun from somewhere on his person and suddenly begins shooting Wagner, firing the gun repeatedly at him without uttering a single word. The sudden and abrupt gunfire takes other passengers by surprise.”
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After shooting Wagner, Rivera Dominguez then yelled at the bus driver, demanding they open the doors. He shot the doors twice before they were opened and he escaped, along with another 17-year-old boy who had accompanied him.
Around 15 other passengers were aboard the bus at the time—none of them were hurt. Wagner was declared dead at the scene. A police report says Rivera Dominguez and his companion went to a Boys and Girls Club in White Center where they changed clothes. He remains on the run.
Despite his not being in custody, the King County prosecutor’s office has filed murder and unlawful firearm possession charges.
Spokesperson Casey McNerthney said the sheriff’s office is actively searching for Rivera Dominguez.
“There is a $3 million dollar warrant out for his arrest.”
Deputies have interviewed the companion, who is not identified in the charging documents. According to the report, the companion said he “had no forewarning that Dominguez was going to shoot anyone and that neither he nor Dominguez even knew the victim.”
McNerthney says the suspect has no known prior criminal history in King County. Under state law, he is automatically charged as an adult, and will be arraigned on the murder and firearm charges as soon as he is arrested.
