A dispute between a manager and a bookkeeper Monday at a Kent auto body shop led to a double shooting and left two men injured.
The manager reportedly used a handgun to fire one or two shots that hit the bookkeeper in the abdomen and wrist, said Kent Police Chief Steve Strachan in a phone interview Monday afternoon. The manager then shot himself in the head.
Both men were transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The manager has life-threatening injuries, Strachan said.
Kent Police identified the bookkeeper Monday evening as Mark Owen, the son of Washington state Lt. Gov. Brad Owen. Mark Owen is in satisfactory condition at Harborview, Strachan said.
The incident occurred at about 2:34 p.m. Monday at the Kent Body and Paint Shop, 831 Fifth Ave S., just north of South 259th Street and east of Highway 167.
Detectives were interviewing employees Monday to try to determine what led to the dispute, Strachan said.
The manager reportedly shot Owen in an office. Owen then fled the office to get help before the manager shot himself.
“There’s no logical reason to use a firearm as part of an argument, but we need to find out the details of what led to this,” Strachan said.
Strachan said he did not yet know the ages of the men involved in the shooting or the towns where the men live.
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