Renton man faces charges for shooting at police

A Renton man has been charged with two counts of second-degree assault for allegedly shooting at Renton Police officers and at a neighbor’s home.

On Feb. 12, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Eder Rubio-Ordonez, 34, with second-degree assault for the incident on Feb. 8, where he allegedly shot at his neighbor’s home unprovoked and narrowly missed him, and a second count of second-degree assault after he subsequently shot at three responding officers.

Because of the facts of the case, and the unlawful discharge of a firearm investigation from or near the defendant’s home that uncovered 12 shooting events between 2023 and 2024, the state requested a high bail, according to charging documents. Rubio-Ordonez is currently in custody at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent on a $500,000 bail.

According to Renton Police spokesperson Meeghan Black, officers have responded Rubio-Ordonez’s home 106 times since January 2024.

“Many of those calls were for illegal discharge, suspicious vehicle, animal complaint and loud music,” Black said.

Sequence of events

According to court documents, at about 11:14 a.m. Feb. 8, Renton Police officers were dispatched to a reported shooting in the 2600 block of Northeast Fifth Court in the Highlands. A 23-year-old man was playing video games in his room when he suddenly heard a noise, and something went past his face.

Documents state it was then that the man realized there was a small circle consistent with that of a bullet hole on his window. The victim then found another small round hole in the wall next to him. Officers would later locate a bullet in the man’s sink in the next-door restroom; the bullet had traveled through the wall, documents state.

The man called the police and said there had been numerous issues with his next-door neighbor shooting rounds outside his residence, which his mother confirmed. Officers then found an additional bullet impact on the man’s vehicle, which was consistent with coming from the neighbor’s residence, according to documents.

As more officers arrived on the scene, two females who lived at the suspected home exited the home and said they lived downstairs and did not know who lived upstairs, but they reported that they had just heard gunfire from upstairs. Based on what was found, officers received a warrant, documents stated.

Rubio-Ordonez’s girlfriend then told officers that she and he lived in the upstairs of the home. She told officers that as she left the home earlier, she had heard gunshots, but did not know where they came from. She then told officers that Rubio-Ordonez has a history of firing guns from his residence.

Valley SWAT, which is made up of neighboring law enforcement agencies, had officers outside of the residence and made announcements for anyone inside to exit for about two and a half hours. Documents state that three officers were positioned behind a boat in the backyard.

The officers who were positioned behind the boat then heard about three to four gunshots, saw a muzzle flash from inside the home, and saw the bullets impact the ground about 10 to 15 feet away from their location. Rubio-Ordonez was then notified that he was under arrest, and he exited the residence with his hands up and was detained.

When questioned by police, Rubio-Ordonez reportedly said he had been sleeping all day, had not heard any gunshots and did not own any firearms. After clearing the house, it was found that Rubio-Ordonez was the only person inside the home and was the only person who could have shot at officers, documents state.

“As officers cleared the residence, they found a 9mm Glock 19 pistol at the top of the 30 stairs of the residence, which is the same level as the bedroom occupied by Rubio-Ordonez,” documents state. “The pistol was located on top of a dresser.”

The firearm found in Rubio-Ordonez’s room was a 9mm caliber handgun reported as stolen out of Kent, and it was the only firearm in the home. Documents state that the bullets fired at officers were 9mm caliber.

Rubio-Ordonez’s girlfriend told officers that a few weeks ago, Rubio-Ordonez had been shooting the gun inside the residence while she was asleep, but the police had not been called. She said that Rubio-Ordonez is paranoid and thinks people are outside the house.