BOTHELL — A 15-year-old boy was taken to an area hospital Friday morning after being shot in the foot by a security guard outside a federal building.
The gunfire broke out shortly after 7 a.m. in the parking lot at the Pacific Regional Laboratory Northwest office. The Food and Drug Administration site is used to test food products for pesticides and other substances.
Two contract security officers saw somebody in the parking lot. That person ran away as officers approached, then returned and got into a car, said Shari Ireton, a spokeswoman for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
The officers were approaching the vehicle, when the person behind the wheel backed out and struck one of the officers, Ireton said. The security officers shot at the car.
Bothell police already had been alerted that security officers were approaching someone in a suspicious vehicle in the agency’s parking lot, Bothell police Sgt. Cedric Collins said.
“Shortly after that, we received a second call from the FDA advising that shots were fired,” Collins said. “They advised that a 15-year-old boy was shot by security personnel.”
The car drove from the scene and reportedly hit another vehicle in the 22800 block of Highway 527.
Information from the vehicle led Bothell officers to a home where the teen was found with what were described as a gunshot wound to one foot and minor facial wounds. He was taken into custody and transported to Evergreen Hospital Medical Center for treatment of injuries that weren’t considered life threatening, Collins said.
The boy later was released to police and by mid-afternoon was being detained for questioning.
The shooting is being investigated by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security, Ireton said. SMART is a special cadre of detectives from local police agencies who investigate police shootings and similar incidents.
The security officers in this case are contract employees of the Federal Protective Services, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com
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