LYNNWOOD — The sounds of partying, arguing and violence preceded a fatal gunshot early Aug. 28 in a Martha Lake apartment, police and witnesses said.
In the end, a 28-year-old man was dead, shot and killed by an acquaintance, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
A man in his early 20s was arrested at the scene and booked into the Snohomish County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder, sheriff’s spokeswoman Jan Jorgensen said.
The shooting took place at Millwood Estates, a sprawling apartment complex at 508 164th St. SW.
The incident began when police received a call from neighbors who reported a disturbance at 1:40 a.m., Jorgensen said.
Two men got into an argument and the younger man shot the other man, Jorgensen said. The man died at the scene, she said. One of the men lived in the apartment complex, but police did not say which one.
Police had not released the names of either the victim or the alleged assailant at the time.
Hope Thorne, who lives with her daughter Olivia and two young grandchildren in the apartment above where the shooting took place, said she called the police. She heard partying, arguing and loud bumps around 10 p.m. Friday, she said.
“They do that a lot, so I ignored it,” Thorne said. But then the noise escalated. “They started shouting and screaming,” she said.
To Olivia Thorne, the noise sounded like there were quite a few people in the apartment. “They were talking very loudly, you could hear every word clearly,” Olivia Thorne said.
Then the women heard a loud thud.
“I was scared, I could feel the floor rattle,” Olivia Thorne said.
Shortly after, they heard a man yell, “He’s gonna kill me. He’s got his hands around my neck,” Olivia Thorne said, and they heard someone else yell, “Oh my God, call 911.”
Hope Thorne called police. Then she heard a loud pop.
“After I called the police is when I heard the gunshot,” Hope Thorne said.
Other residents of the apartment complex also said they heard an escalating argument and popping noises. Police were on the scene within about 10 minutes, residents said.
They said police knocked on all the doors in the building asking neighbors what they had heard. They combed the grounds for evidence for hours after the incident, resident Julia Thompson said.
“We were standing out here watching all this because nobody could get much sleep,” Thompson said.
She said she saw officials remove a body bag at around 10:45 a.m.
“I wish I hadn’t looked out the window,” she said.
Some residents said they were unnerved by the shooting and uneasy that someone was killed in their building.
County Medical Examiner Leon Reichle said Aug. 28 an autopsy would be performed Aug. 30 on the victim.
Bill Sheets is a reporter for the Herald in Everett.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
