As the city continues to grapple with the problem of rising crime rates and homelessness, another shooting incident involving a King County sheriff and another person happened last Sunday at Shoreline. Reports by investigators suggest that both the deputy sheriff and the 34-year-old man suffered gunshot wounds during a gunfire exchange after what was termed a serious “altercation.”
According to a statement by the investigative team in King County, the shooting happened after 2 A.M when the deputy was on official duty investigating a suspicious car around the 1500 block of Northeast 145th Street.
Court documents filed on Monday after the suspect was arraigned in court indicate that shortly after 2 AM, the deputy sheriff of King County, Clayton Stultz discovered that the owner of an Audi vehicle parked at Chevron had a pending warrant on charges of driving with a suspended license.
The deputy then informed the owner of the car, Ezequiel Medina Parra of the warrant but the suspect simply walked away. The deputy followed but Medina Parra swung around and fired a dozen shots. The deputy sheriff also returned fire striking the suspect.
Both the deputy and the suspect fired their weapons at some point during the altercation striking each other. The deputy and the suspect were both given emergency treatment at the scene before being rushed to the Harborview Medical Center. The reports indicate that none of their injuries were life-threatening.
The 34-year-old man was later discharged from the hospital on Sunday night. He was booked in jail pending investigations for charges of first-degree assault. The deputy was also cleared from the hospital on the same night. In an email sent by the spokesperson of the investigative team, Meeghan Black, the deputy has been serving the Sheriff’s Office since June 2021.
The shooting scene including a food mart and a Chevron gas station was cordoned off by the police on Sunday. Northeast 145th Street was also closed on Sunday. There were several yellow flag markers on the ground at the parking lot and along the street denoting the presence of evidence such as shell casings.
According to one of the residents of the area, Taylor Houghtaling, the shooting occurred after 2 A.M. He described hearing gunfire while in bed and texting his mom while the shooting continued. “Everything then went silent for 30 seconds or so then I heard sirens immediately after,” he said.
According to the witness, the police didn’t take long to arrive at the scene. They searched the entire area with a team of officers, a drone, and K-9 units. The independent use-of-force team will review the incident further. The independent use-of-force team was formed after the passage of a police reform measure known as Initiative940. The initiative was approved by voters in Washington in 2018.
On Monday, the West Seattle suspect was held on a bail of $3 million for allegedly opening fire and shooting the deputy sheriff. He is facing multiple charges including opening fire and injuring a deputy sheriff. The charges against the assailant were filed by the King County prosecutor on Monday morning before the suspect could get a bail hearing. It normally takes 72 hours before the charges are filed but this time they were filed much earlier.
