LYNNWOOD
A Lynnwood house party ended late Saturday, Aug. 9, in an eruption of gunfire, including a shot fired by a Lynnwood police officer.
“Amazingly, no one was hurt,” Lynnwood police spokeswoman Shannon Sessions said.
Police on Sunday, Aug. 10, arrested four people in connection with the shooting. Three people, including two Shoreline brothers, 15 and 19, were jailed for investigation of riot and assault.
The melee started just before midnight Saturday, according to court documents filed Monday in Everett District Court.
All the people involved appeared to know each other. Police believe an argument sparked the gunfire exchange between party-goers at a house in the 3700 block of 165th Place SW and a group including one person who was asked to leave, Sessions said.
Detectives do not believe the fight was gang-related, she said.
A man was asked to leave the party. He later returned with two friends. One person was armed with a shotgun.
One of the party-goers told police he heard someone shout something from a car. Then he saw the barrel of a rifle pointed out the window and a flash from the muzzle, the documents said.
The man, 29, of Tacoma, allegedly returned fire with a .45-caliber Taurus handgun.
Amidst the gunfire, a Lynnwood police officer, 28, arrived and fired once at the man with the handgun, the documents said.
A police dog later led officers to that man. He was jailed for investigation of first-degree assault.
Many people drove away from the party and police from Lynnwood, Mill Creek, Brier and Mountlake Terrace and Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies worked to find them, Sessions said.
A car crashed about a mile from the house party, the documents said. Police found the car empty and recovered the shotgun in bushes nearby.
One of the men, 19, was arrested after a friend took him to Stevens Hospital with a head wound from the crash. Two teenagers, including the 19-year-old’s younger brother, 15, and a Lynnwood boy, 17, were arrested at their homes. The 15-year-old also had a head injury likely sustained when the car crashed, the documents said.
The 19-year-old told police he had been hit on the head with a beer bottle at the party, the documents said. Detectives could find no evidence to corroborate the man’s story.
He was jailed for investigation of first-degree assault and riot.
Outside the house party, detectives found 11 spent shell casings. They believe nine came from the handgun, one from the shotgun and one was fired by the police officer. The spent rounds matched the weapons recovered by Lynnwood police, the documents said.
As many as 30 people were at the party at the time of the shooting. Police on Monday, Aug. 11, continued to interview witnesses, Sessions said.
The officer who fired a round has been with Lynnwood police for a year and a half. He has not been placed on administrative leave, although commanders plan to review the case, she said.
Jackson Holtz writes for The Herald of Everett.
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