FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LYNNWOOD, WA (August 14, 2021) - Today, at about 5:27 PM, officers responded to multiple reports of shots fired near the Safeway located in the James Village shopping center (19500 Hwy 99). Police arrived to find multiple spent bullet casings in the alleyway between Hopskotch Kids and Sally Beauty just north of the Safeway store. Also located nearby, in the 6200 block of 194th ST SW, police found a vehicle that had just been involved in a collision. The vehicle was still running, had significant damage including airbag deployment, but no occupants were immediately located. The vehicle was a 2009 Mercedes C300 sedan. As police continued investigating, witnesses indicated someone with a firearm may have entered the Safeway store. Safeway was evacuated as a safety precaution and several surrounding stores went into lock-down while officers cleared the Safeway store.
Police made contact with a 23 year-old male, who identified himself as a security guard for the James Village property. The security guard indicated he was involved in some sort of a disturbance with a group of individuals that had fled the scene.
An individual associated with the crashed car, a 20 year-old male, who had initially been hiding nearby upon police arrival, also came forward and contacted the police.
At this time, no arrests have been made. Detectives are currently interviewing the security guard and the man associated with the crashed car to try and piece together what happened, who was involved, and who fired the shots. Detectives will be impounding the Mercedes for further investigation. A review of potential surveillance footage from surrounding stores is also being conducted.
Initial indication is the security guard and the group associated with the Mercedes may have been involved in a confrontation earlier in the day and when the group returned, that is when shots were fired. Fortunately, there have been no reported injuries as a result of the gunfire.
Anyone with information about this shooting is asked to please contact Detective Bucholtz at 425-670-5623. You can also leave an anonymous tip using Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Commander Sean Doty
LPD Media
LPDMedia@LynnwoodWa.Gov
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