Bellevue Police Chief describes ‘chaotic scene’ of Saturday’s shooting, stabbing

The Bellevue Police Department and Fire Department initially reported Saturday night that multiple people had been stabbed or shot at an apartment building in downtown Bellevue. It was later reported that two people had died and two more were wounded, one critically.

Two dead, two wounded after shooting, stabbing in downtown Bellevue

The investigation is still ongoing. Bellevue Police Chief Steve Mylett joined The Dori Monson Show on Monday to provide share more details about the incident.

“So it had been around 7:30 [p.m.], we started getting phone calls from the Elements 2 Apartments that there had been multiple stabbings and a shooting,” Mylett said. “And the dispatchers were communicating to the officers that it sounded like a very, very chaotic scene.”

“What we found to have happened is that the 22-year-old female resident was having some sort of party, housewarming, or some sort of gathering. … I don’t know how many people were invited, but there were several people there, and among the guests was her 41-year-old father,” he added. “Apparently, there was some sort of domestic disturbance that happened between the two during the party, and someone tried to intervene to calm it down.”

The father stabbed a 21-year-old young man, a Renton resident, who was the first person to intervene.

“Then a 24-year-old became involved, this young man from Bend, Oregon, and he was attacked by the 41-year-old dad, and stabbed in the neck, and he shot the 41-year-old,” Mylett continued. “The 24-year-old was armed with a firearm, and then he shot him and killed [the father].”

In the course of the events, the 22-year-old daughter also received injuries from the knife. Police do not yet know if her injuries were intentional or accidental.

When the officers arrived, Mylett said they attempted live saving measures on the 21-year-old Renton resident, but were not successful. He died on scene.

“They applied pressure on the [24-year-old] male’s neck and tried to control the bleeding,” he said. “The Fire Department arrived on scene, did a phenomenal job, as Bellevue Fire always does. The individual with the neck injury was transported to Harborview and went into surgery and was in good condition as of yesterday.”

Mylett says the 24-year-old is expected to make a recovery. The 22-year-old daughter was treated at Overlake Medical Center for her injuries and has since been released.

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This story was widely covered by media outlets Saturday night, in part because of the rarity of an incident like this occurring in the Bellevue community.

“I was actually just talking to a colleague of mine down in Texas and we were talking about this overnight and the media coverage that it got, and justifiably so,” Mylett said. “… I know some places where something like this happens, and it’s like the fourth story down on the news. But because it’s so rare here in Bellevue, because of our reputation … it gets a lot of attention, and it should.”

“It was a horrific, violent nightmare up there on the third floor at the Elements 2 building, and we lost two human lives.”

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from noon – 3 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.