Kent Police officers fired 13 shots in fatal shooting at warehouse

Two Kent Police officers reportedly combined to fire 13 shots with their rifles during a June 5 incident at a Kent warehouse that killed a 55-year-old Federal Way man who fired two shots, according to an ongoing investigation of the shooting.

David Alan Peck died from multiple gunshot wounds and the manner of death was homicide, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. The medical examiner rules a death a homicide not as a legal conclusion, but when an action by one or more persons results in the death of a person.

“It is unknown how many rounds each officer fired; however, there were (13) rifle casings recovered at the scene,” according to a recent report by the Valley Independent Investigation Team, led by the Port of Seattle Police.

Peck reportedly fired two shots, according to the report. No officers were injured. The officers were in the warehouse for just more than five minutes before exiting after the shooting due to a fire and smoke inside the building, according to the report.

One officer in the shooting has been with the Kent Police Department for three years, while the other officer has been with the department for two years, according to the report.

A handgun recovered at the scene was identified as a Hi-Point 9mm pistol and confirmed registered to Peck, according to the report. There were two bullet projectiles recovered at the scene and one casing recovered near Peck’s body.

Multiple 911 callers reported that Peck, a recently terminated employee, had entered a business at 6651 S. 216th St., was brandishing a firearm and making threats toward employees, according to a June 5 Kent Police news release. It was also reported Peck was carrying a gas can while making the threats.

Officers arrived and located Peck inside the warehouse portion of the building. He was reported to be non-compliant by officers and holding a firearm at his side, according to police. Officers reported that a fire had been set in the rear of the warehouse.

Officers later confirmed that multiple fires had been started and announced their withdrawal from the warehouse. Shortly afterward, the police radio traffic included the transmission, “Shots fired,” according to police.

“At this time, we can confirm Kent PD personnel retreated from the burning building more than five minutes after making entry,” according to the Valley Independent Investigative Team report. “Their retreat and exit were following the shooting and primarily due to an escalation of fire and smoke inside the building.”

Valley SWAT attempted to clear the building with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) drone in the early afternoon, but the drone went down due to problems navigating through the smoke, according to the report. A second UAV from Kent Police was utilized following the first attempt and was able to capture media of Peck facedown unresponsive and a pistol out of battery next to the body.

Out of battery is “the condition of the breeching mechanism of a firearm not being completely locked or completely closed,” according to the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute. This is opposed to a gun being “in battery,” which is defined as, “a firearm is in battery when the breeching mechanism is in the proper position for firing.”

At the direction of Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority, the fire suppression system was turned off prior to 3 p.m. Shortly thereafter, Valley SWAT and Puget Sound Fire entered the building and located Peck deceased.

The Valley Independent Investigative Team will eventually deliver its case to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for review and determination of charges, if any, against the officers.

The Valley Independent Investigative Team is a multi-agency team of investigators from eight law enforcement agencies (Auburn, Des Moines, Federal Way, Kent, King County Sheriff’s Office, Renton, Port of Seattle and Tukwila). With Kent Police as the involved agency, its staff has been excluded from the investigation.