EVERETT — An apparent case of mistaken gang affiliation erupted in gunfire Thursday night, sending two Everett teenagers to a Seattle hospital.
The victims, a 14-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy, are siblings.
The girl was in satisfactory condition Friday at Harborview Medical Center. The boy was in serious condition and in intensive care but had been upgraded from critical condition the night before.
“Both suffered injuries that we understand are not life-threatening,” the Mukilteo School District reported in a letter to parents.
The suspect, 17, was arrested early Friday morning after a four-hour standoff with police. He was evaluated for minor injuries after a SWAT team used what was described as an aerosol irritant to force him out of a south Everett condominium in the 1500 block of 115th Street SW.
The former Mariner High School student allegedly admitted to detectives he was dressed in red to represent his gang affiliation, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Shari Ireton said.
The suspect allegedly confronted the boy about wearing blue shorts — the color favored by a rival gang. He also confronted the boy about being Hispanic, Ireton said.
Neither the boy and his sister nor another girl who accompanied them have any association with gangs, nor did they know the suspect prior to the shooting, Ireton said.
When the boy would not respond to the suspect’s accusations of “repping blue,” a gang term, the suspect shot him, Ireton said.
When his sister began yelling, the suspect shot her, too.
The shooting was reported about 6:30 p.m. in the 11700 block of Meridian Avenue S. It occurred on a field on school property that separates Discovery Elementary and Voyager Middle schools.
A custodian from Discovery was the first on the scene after the suspect and three other girls fled the play field, Ireton said. He gave aid to the victims until medics arrived.
The handgun believed used in the assault was recovered from the home where the suspect was located. It was confirmed to have been stolen, a case under investigation by Everett police.
The boy who was shot is a student at Mariner High School; the girl is a former student at Voyager Middle School. It wasn’t immediately clear Friday where she is enrolled this year.
The suspect was booked into the Denney Juvenile Justice Center in north Everett for investigation of two counts of first-degree assault with a firearm.
“Although this tragic incident took place at a time when school was not in session, it has certainly been on the minds of the staff and students at all three schools today,” the district wrote parents. “The schools have done their best to make today as normal a school day as possible and will continue to do everything necessary to keep their campuses safe.”
The shooting occurred not long after the principal at Mariner High School announced new dress code rules in response to increased gang activity.
The high school banned students from wearing non-Seattle pro-sports gear.
Clothes representing some professional sports teams often are used by gang members because the team colors may match gang colors.
The anti-gang police task force approved of the changes.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.
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