EVERETT – It’s not every day a police officer walks through the produce section armed with a compact AR-15 assault rifle.
Shoppers at the Safeway supermarket at 41st Street and Rucker Avenue on Monday got more than bargain prices during a police standoff at a nearby convenience store.
The grocery was locked down for about an hour until a police tactical unit confirmed an armed man inside the Arco AM-PM was dead.
It was one of several ripple effects from the nearly two-hour incident that clogged streets, locked doors and sent neighbors peering over their fences.
Carol Chonzena of Everett said it was like watching the TV show “Cops.” “It’s right here by your house. It’s like, ‘Oh, my god.’ “
“We’re all snoopy,” said onlooker John Berry of Mukilteo, as he peered through binoculars from the Safeway parking lot. “It’s a slow day. This is exciting.”
Traffic quickly jammed as police cruisers and fire engines converged at the major intersection, closing off sections of 41st Street, Rucker Avenue and High Street.
Four Everett schools were locked down during the confrontation: Jackson Elementary School, Evergreen Middle School and Sequoia and Cascade high schools.
Several nearby businesses also kept people inside until the all clear was given.
In the locked-down Safeway, employees handed out sandwiches and coffee to patrons who were told to stay away from doors and windows.
Everett Transit supervisors visited nearby bus stops to alert people to redirected routes.
Ramie Esquivel described the neighborhood scene as “mass chaos.”
She was in bed when she heard gunshots ring from the convenience store across the street from her High Street home.
“I jumped out of the bed and came to the door,” she said. “Everyone was just running away from the store. There were cars left with hoods open, and everyone was really scared.”
Esquivel housed two fleeing gas station employees. “They were frantic, just completely freaked out,” she said.
Charlie Salway, who also lives on High Street just west of the convenience store, heard the gunshots and watched through her window as police later aimed guns and yelled through a loudspeaker.
“It’s pretty scary. We have kids here,” she said.
Some residents said the shooting raised lingering safety concerns in the area.
High Street neighbors Loretta Aragon and Paul Vukich said there have been car thefts and vandalism. “We just happen to be in the runway,” Aragon said.
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