(WSB photo, last Thursday night)
3:37 PM: Just in from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office: 16-year-old Loyan A. Ahmed has been charged as an adult in the shooting death last Thursday night of 37-year-old Taylor Fehlen. He is charged with second-degree murder and unlawful gun possession. We don’t have the charging documents yet but we have the probable-cause document, from which the following is taken, with all but suspect and victim names redacted. It also reveals what preceded the murder:
On August 09, 2018 at approximately 2309 hours, Seattle Police Officers responded to a shooting at 35 Ave SW and SW Morgan Street. Officers arrived and located a victim down on the ground suffering from gunshot wounds. Witnesses told them that after shooting the victim multiple times the armed male suspect ran northeast across 35 Ave SW. The victim was lying on the sidewalk near the northwest comer of the intersection.
Seattle Fire Medics transported the victim to Harborview Medical Center where he died from his injuries. The victim was identified as 37-year-old Taylor C. Fehlen. Homicide detectives were called to the scene.
Metro Coach #7003 was parked beside where the victim fell. Officers located several shell casings and the Coach appeared to have been struck by gunfire. Officers learned that the victim and the suspect had both been passengers on board the Metro Coach.
Witnesses consistently described the shooter as a young Black male, wearing a dark colored hoodie and long pants. Officers scoured the area immediately but did not find the suspect. An SPD Police Dog (PD) verified witness testimony that the suspect ran to the NE, across 35th Ave SW, through a parking lot of a Walgreens drug store. During the determined PD search, a semi-automatic firearm was discovered in some shrubs on the east side of that store. The gun was out-of-battery as if it had recently been used. A single bullet was “stove-piped” in the firing chamber.
The caliber and brand of ammunition in the gun were the same as those found at the shooting scene. The PD also alerted to on fenced yards east of the alley but the suspect was not located. Detectives determined that the Metro Coach was equipped with security cameras that recorded the incident.
A review of that footage showed the suspect boarded the Coach at 16 Ave SW and SW Roxbury. When he boarded the coach, he paid for his fare by “tapping” his ORCA card. During their investigation, detectives leamed the card had been issued to Loyan A. Ahmed … The victim, and several other passengers were already on board. Ahmed sat directly behind the driver. To the ire of the passengers, Ahmed repeatedly pulled the stop cord on the coach. The driver stopped the coach each time but Ahmed didn’t disembark. The driver and passengers, including the victim, expressed their anger at Ahmed. Ahmed and the victim quarreled … After this occurred the Ahmed appeared to ready himself by deliberately dawning his hood, synching the drawstring to conceal his face and by tucking in his pant legs. As the coach neared the intersection of 35 Ave SW and SW Morgan Street the victim raised from his seat and pulled the stop cord. Ahmed got up and moved to the back door where he manipulated something under his hoodie in his waistband. When the door opened, Ahmed got off, walked a short distance and waited for the victim. Ahmed yelled for the victim to get off the bus. The victim exited the front door and started walking toward Ahmed. Ahmed drew a handgun from his waist, shot the victim multiple times and ran off.
Still images depicting the suspect were disseminated to local media.
Detectives obtained a recent school photo of Ahmed and he matched the suspect depicted in the Metro video. Further, they determined that Ahmed lived with his mother … The residence is blocks from the crime scene and in direct line with the suspect’s direction of travel from the scene.
Detectives were preparing to arrest Ahmed for the murder when his mother unexpectedly called 9ll. She reported that her juvenile soon wanted to talk to police about being a murder suspect. (A detective) called Ahmed’s mother … She informed me that she had seen images of her son on the West Seattle Blog and identified him as being the murder suspect. SPD SWAT responded to their residence where Ahmed was taken into custody without incident.
The suspect’s arraignment – initial hearing for entering a plea – is set for August 29th.
ADDED 3:56 PM: We now also have the charging documents, with the additional details that prosecutors requested $1 million bail and that the suspect has “no known criminal history.”
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