Police kill man suspected of opening fire on deputies in Everett

Published 12:59 pm Friday, May 19, 2023

EVERETT — A man shot at sheriff’s deputies Friday afternoon in north Everett, sparking a brief manhunt that ended with officers shooting him to death, according to police.

The Snohomish County sheriff’s Violent Offender Task Force was trying to serve a warrant on the man, 34, around 12:25 p.m. at the Rivers Landing Apartment in the 3000 block of 9th Street, authorities said late Friday.

Following an argument, the man fired a gunshot into the ground and ran away, said Meeghan Black, spokesperson for the King County Independent Force Investigation Team, a cadre of detectives that was assigned to investigate the police use of force.

In a public bulletin, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office described the shooter at-large as a tall, skinny, white male wearing a black tank top and dark pants.

“Armed and dangerous, do not approach,” the sheriff’s office tweeted. “If seen call 911. Updates to follow.”

Officers from Everett and Lynnwood joined in a manhunt for the suspect, who was also wanted on a Department of Corrections warrant. There were “multiple incidents of gunfire exchanged” at different locations, Black said.

At one point, an officer reported hearing a gunshot fired in a home, and the “the suspect was then seen running from the residence,” according to the King County investigative team.

Around 1 p.m., deputies radioed about “shots fired” again in the 800 block of Linden Street, hardly a block away from the first scene. Deputies then reported the man was “in custody” and that “he has a gun shot wound.”

The suspect did not survive that “final round of gunfire,” and no officers were injured, according to the investigative team.

Three officers — one Everett police sergeant, one Lynnwood sergeant and one Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy — were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, as is standard when an officer uses deadly force.

According to investigators, officers rendered aid, but the man died at the scene.

One witness declined to give his name but spoke with a reporter in Spanish, through an interpreter who identified himself as Omar Carreon. He said he saw three officers walking along Linden Street. Those officers spotted the suspect and started running toward him. The suspect took off running too, the witness said.

The witness reported as the man ran, he turned around a bit, and that’s when the police opened fire.

Blurry security footage sent to The Daily Herald from a neighbor, who also wished to remain anonymous, showed a man running through an alley in a tank top and dark pants. In the footage, he’s being pursued by what appears to be a law enforcement officer in a red shirt, with a handgun drawn.

Security footage from a neighbor who wished to remain anonymous appears to show police opening fire on a suspect accused of shooting sheriff’s deputies. This video has been zoomed in for clarity.

“Drop the gun now!” an officer shouts.

At least three shots ring out in rapid succession.

“Drop the gun!” can be heard again, followed roughly three seconds later by another volley of gunfire.

Police cars blaring their sirens converged on the scene.

“Move up! Move up!” someone says, about 50 seconds after the first gunshots caught on camera.

Officers locked down the scene near the second shooting. The wounded man was not transported to the hospital. A witness shared images of what appeared to be a body covered by a white sheet.

The King County investigative team officially confirmed around 4:30 p.m. that police had shot the man and that he was dead.

In the meantime, the campus at Everett Community College was placed on lockdown during the police chase. Lockdown was lifted by 1:20 p.m., according to the school’s Twitter account.

Meanwhile, Hawthorne Elementary’s principal sent out notices about the “potential threat” via email and text around 12:30 p.m. The campus is about a half-mile from the shooting scenes.

Makayla Miller, a parent, went to pick up her kids. But she wasn’t able to because the school was on lockdown. The school was on a half-day Friday, so kids would leave campus at 1:40 p.m.

“If it happened an hour later, we would have had kids walking home from school,” she said.

Ultimately, the lockdown was lifted and she was reunited with her kids. She spoke with a reporter as they played with squirt guns in the yard on a sunny 70-degree day.

It was also unclear if police recovered a weapon from the suspect at the scene of the second shooting.

The identity of the slain man, as well as the cause and manner of death, will be determined by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Correction: The man was 34 and three officers were placed on administrative leave. The original version of this story said the man was 24 and four officers were placed on administrative leave.

Jonathan Tall: 425-339-3486; jonathan.tall@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @EDHJonTall.