(UPDATED 4:09 PM with information from suspect’s bail hearing)
10:31 AM: Just published to SPD Blotter by Jonah Spangenthal-Lee:
A 26-year-old felon tried to stash a stolen gun in the diaper aisle of a drug store Monday evening after opening fire on a West Seattle street.
Police received reports of gunfire just before 5pm near 12th Avenue SW and SW Roxbury Street, where witnesses said a man — accompanied by two young women, one of whom was pushing an infant in a stroller — had fired a shot into the air and fled into a Walgreens several blocks away.
A team of officers entered the store and followed the suspect down the aisles until they cornered him and took him into custody.
When police searched the man, they found he wasn’t carrying a gun. Officers began scouring aisles of the store, and found a handgun stashed behind a shelf full of diapers.
Officers seized the weapon—which was reported stolen—and booked the man into the King County Jail for a weapons violation, possession of stolen property, and a warrant for auto theft.
Police interviewed the man’s companions — his girlfriend, their child, and his girlfriend’s sister — and released them from the scene.
P.S. We were asked about the 15th/Roxbury search hours later via Facebook but didn’t get the details until this appeared. Best way to reach us instantly 24/7 is 206-293-6302, text or voice, if you have a breaking-news tip or question (consider adding WSB to your phone list – thanks!).
4:09 PM: The suspect’s bail was set this afternoon at $30,000, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. We’ve looked up his record; the auto-theft-related warrant dates back to a case last October, in which he is accused of breaking into a house in the 9400 block of 9th SW, finding car keys in the house, and stealing the car. He was spotted a few hours later in South Seattle, where he allegedly fled from police, crashed the car, and took off running. Police found him hiding in the bushes near I-5. Police reports from that case and the new one list him as living in the North SeaTac area. His next court appearance is set for Thursday.
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