Seattle man, 46, arrested in triple homicide in Renton

A fatal shooting in Renton ended with three dead, including a child, on the evening of Saturday, July 19.

According to the Renton Police Department, around 7:30 p.m. in the 1400 block of Hillcrest Lane NE, three females — ages 9, 28 and 46 — were found fatally shot inside an apartment.

Subsequently, detectives served search warrants on the deceased’s apartment and the suspect’s electronics, interviewed witnesses and family, and developed information that led them to find and arrest a 46-year-old Seattle man in South Seattle around 1:30 p.m. July 20. According to the department, the man was in a dating relationship with the 46-year-old deceased woman, and the incident was related to domestic violence.

“Investigators have not yet identified what led to the shooting, but they do know the suspect was spending time with the victims earlier that evening. Two other individuals were in the apartment at the time of the shooting,” the department stated. “Thankfully, they were able to escape and are safe. They provided detectives with information that helped identify the suspect.”

The department did not release the suspect’s name, description or photo at the time of the incident because it was a targeted act of domestic violence. According to the department, detectives did not believe there was a threat to the general public. Additionally, releasing the suspect’s identity too early could cause him to flee, go into hiding or destroy evidence, making it harder to bring him to justice, the department stated.

According to the King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention jail lookup portal, the man is currently held at the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle and was booked at 5:16 p.m. July 20. According to King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Douglas Wagoner, the suspect’s next court appearance is a second appearance, on July 23, which is also known as the rush filing deadline.

Wagoner said prosecutors anticipate receiving additional information from Renton police investigators for a charging decision the afternoon of July 23, but the defendant remains in jail on $10 million bail.

Details of the events

According to documents, at about 7:36 p.m. July 19, Renton officers were dispatched to a reported shooting in the area of Kirkland Avenue NE and NE 18th Street, which was later confirmed to be in an apartment unit in the 1400 block of Hillcrest Lane NE. Documents state that a neighbor called in saying they were afraid and there was something involving a gun.

Dispatch was advised that subjects were still inside the unit, and the suspected shooter was described as a Hispanic male in his 40s. Documents state that the suspect was last seen wearing a red and black flannel and had fled the scene on foot toward a nearby Safeway.

The witness to the incident said that they did not know where the firearm was, but that they knew both the shooter and the deceased females. Documents also state that the witness said they had seen some of the shooting.

According to documents, when officers responded to the apartment unit, immediately after looking through a glass sliding door into the unit, they viewed two female individuals on the ground, including a child, who had blood around them. Officers entered the unit, found another deceased female, and determined that all three appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds to their heads. Lifesaving measures were attempted to save all three females, but all three were declared dead at the scene, documents state.

The witness who saw some of the shooting stated that they were close friends with the deceased 46-year-old woman, who had recently started dating the suspect. They stated that the suspect had been at the home since the night of July 18, and they had been at the home with the deceased and the suspect the day of the shootings, according to documents.

Documents state that just before the shooting, the witness and the 28-year-old deceased woman were smoking outside the apartment before they heard a gunshot. The witness said that the 28-year-old then went and entered the residence, and just after she entered through the sliding glass door, they heard another gunshot and saw the 28-year-old female drop to the ground, according to documents.

According to documents, the witness then went to attend to the 28-year-old woman, and at that point, they saw the suspect point a gun at the 9-year-old girl. The witness said that they then ran from the scene, and they did not see the shooting, but subsequently heard the gunshots.

The suspect’s phone number was then located, and he was able to be tracked to the 9400 block of 37th Avenue SW in Burien. Documents state that the suspect was then taken into custody without incident.

Documents state that there is probable cause to believe that the suspect committed two counts of second-degree domestic violence murder and one count of second-degree murder.