EDMONDS — After Abdulkadir Shariff Gedi almost struck a pedestrian while making a left turn in Edmonds, the driver appeared to roll down the window to apologize, according to a police review of dashcam footage.
Detectives believe Alex Waggoner, 21, then shot the rideshare driver to death in a brief and random confrontation, where the shooter was in no imminent danger.
Five minutes after Waggoner reportedly killed Gedi, he ran back to his apartment, the report said.
“Baby, holy (expletive)! Let me in! Let me in right now! Oh my god,” Alex Waggoner reportedly yelled to his girlfriend, in doorbell camera footage.
After a week-long investigation, police arrested Waggoner for investigation of second-degree murder Wednesday. In a police interview, the Edmonds man reportedly admitted to fatally shooting Gedi.
The night of Jan. 3, Gedi was driving his car near the intersection of Edmonds Way and 236th Street SW, according to the Edmonds police report filed in Everett District Court. Gedi, a rideshare driver for Uber and Lyft, had just driven two passengers from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to their home in Edmonds.
Around 10:15 p.m., the light at the intersection turned green and Gedi turned left, according to the report. At the same time, Waggoner was crossing from the southwest corner of Edmonds Way on foot.
Dashboard camera footage from Gedi’s car reportedly showed Waggoner looked down at his phone as he crossed. The car came close to striking him, detectives wrote. Waggoner had to quickly move away to avoid being hit. He yelled at Gedi, who had slowed the car.
The footage shows Gedi rolling his window down and appearing to begin to say, “Sorry,” according to police. Waggoner immediately shot at his car, police said.
Gedi was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Around 4 a.m., he died. Gedi was 31.
Police found 11 shell casings near the crosswalk. The car had been hit nine times.
Waggoner later told police he didn’t remember how many shots he fired, but thought he emptied the magazine, according to court papers.
Witnesses said Waggoner either fled east on 236th Street SW or north on Edmonds Way to a nearby apartment complex, police said. The gunman was described as a young man, 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-9, with dark curly hair.
Gedi’s dashboard camera footage showed the suspected shooter wearing dark pants, a dark hoodie and distinct black-and-white shoes, later determined to be hightop Sk8-Hi Vans, according to detectives.
Two days after the shooting, detectives interviewed a woman who suspected Waggoner was the shooter. The woman said the shooting made her think of Waggoner, because he matched the description, lived near the scene, had access to weapons and could “fly off the handle at any moment” in anger, detectives wrote.
Investigators found Waggoner’s state Department of Licensing photo and a booking mugshot from the Snohomish County Jail, which matched the physical description of the suspect, according to the report.
In 2020, police arrested Waggoner for misdemeanor domestic violence assault, according to investigators. Waggoner has been involved in numerous Edmonds police calls, mostly over domestic disputes with his girlfriend and behavioral health issues, police said.
During these calls, Waggoner would frequently leave the apartment to take a walk and calm down. On Oct. 19, in an incident where his girlfriend called police to their apartment, Waggoner left with a Glock 26, the report said. The gun used 9 mm ammunition. The man told police the guns in the apartment belonged to his girlfriend, but he “always has them on him,” detectives wrote.
Investigators found four 9 mm firearms registered to residents of the apartment.
Body-camera footage from the Oct. 19 response reportedly shows Waggoner wearing the same Vans shoes the shooting suspect appeared to be wearing, according to the report.
Detectives noticed a Ring peephole camera outside of the Waggoner’s door while reviewing the footage. Police obtained video from the camera the night Gedi was killed.
Around 10:12 p.m. on the night of the shooting, Waggoner left the apartment wearing a dark blue hooded sweatshirt, a small drawstring backpack, dark pants and black-and-white shoes. Five minutes later, Waggoner ran back to the apartment “frantically,” according to the report.
Around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, police arrested Waggoner outside of his apartment. He was carrying two loaded pistols and was wearing body armor during his arrest, police said. Waggoner reported one of the guns found on him was the one he used to shoot Gedi.
Inside the apartment, officers found black-and-white Vans shoes and a Taurus 9 mm pistol and ammunition.
“This investigation is an excellent example of community involvement, tireless detective work, and collaboration among law enforcement partners,” Edmonds police Cmdr. Josh McClure wrote in a press release. “Now that the suspect is in custody, detectives will continue their investigation to include a thorough analysis of the firearms that were recovered.”
Waggoner told detectives he had been drinking alcohol and was walking to a nearby Safeway to buy more. He reported a car nearly hit him as he crossed the street and had to sidestep to avoid being hit by the car. The car stopped and he shot at the driver, detectives wrote.
Waggoner reported he was “scared” when the car nearly hit him, but he “overreacted” and was sorry for what he did, police said.
Gedi was a beloved member and volunteer of the Abubakr Islamic Center in Tukwila. At the mosque, Gedi was remembered for his kindness.
Gedi was the fourth homicide death in Snohomish County in the span of a week. Last year, there were 32 homicides countywide.
At Waggoner’s bail hearing Thursday, courtroom seats were filled with members of Gedi’s family. The hearing was brief, ending in fewer than five minutes.
Everett District Court Judge Anthony Howard found probable cause for the murder charge and set bail at $1 million.
Jonathan Tall: 425-339-3486; jonathan.tall@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @snocojon.
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