Redmond man arrested for fatal house party shooting
Feb 13, 2012, 6:26 AM | Updated: 2:53 pm
Police have arrested a man who they believe fatally shot a woman during a house party in Redmond on Sunday.
Cornelius DeJong IV, 21, has been arrested for first-degree manslaughter.
“It is believed that it was due to reckless actions that caused the shooting,” said Jim Bove with the Redmond Police Department. “We do not believe that it was premeditated. The fact that he shot somebody … was accidental.”
DeJong was at a party early Sunday morning in the
16800 NE 97th Street Redmond, WA when police say he fired a 40-caliber semiautomatic handgun. The bullet passed through a wall and struck a 20-year-old woman from Seattle. She later died at Harborview Medical Center.
Bove said DeJong has a concealed pistol license, but police are working to determine why he took the weapon out during the party.
Neighbors said the party was out of control, but didn’t realize a woman had been shot until police showed up.
“I don’t consider it normal for this neighborhood at all,” Education Hill resident Samir Karem told KING 5. “This really seems confined to this house. We’d heard of trouble there before.”
According to Bove, police have been called to the residence in the past for noise complaints and an assault.
