Man arrested for unlawful possession of firearm after fatal light-rail shooting

SEATTLE -- Bail was set at $100,000 Tuesday for a 23-year-old man who police arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm after he allegedly grabbed a King County sheriff's deputy during a fatal confrontation with a gunman at a light-rail station in the Sodo district Monday.

The incident began just before 4:15 p.m. Monday when three unarmed transit Fare Enforcement Officers (FEO) contacted three men on a light rail train to confirm they had paid their fares. After learning one of the men had not paid his fare, the FEOs asked all three men to leave the train at the Sodo station. Police never explained why the passengers who paid their fares were asked to leave the train.

After the FEOs requested assistance from a King County sheriff’s deputy working on the transit line, one man refused to identify himself to the deputy. When the deputy attempted to take the man into custody, the man pulled out a handgun, police said, and a struggle ensued.

When the deputy drew his own firearm, the 23-year-old man grabbed the deputy’s arm, police said. The deputy was able to free himself and return his attention to the armed suspect, before he opened fire, killing him.

Officers recovered the gunman’s pistol at the scene and a K9 team later located a second handgun at the light-rail station, police said.

Detectives interviewed the 23-year-old man at police headquarters Monday and, after recovering surveillance footage linking the second gun to the 23-year-old man, booked him into the King County Jail for assault on an officer and unlawful possession of a firearm, police said.