‘What happened ... destroyed a lot of lives’: Family of slain Federal Way man plead for justice

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- New details have emerged about the 30-year-old man who was gunned down in Federal Way on Tuesday night.

Adam Gutierrez’s father, Javier Gutierrez, said Thursday that his son spent a decade in the Navy serving his country, but someone shot and killed him while he was walking his dog  on 356th Street at about 11 p.m. Tuesday.

Javier said Adam was living the American dream; he was getting ready to graduate from the University of Washington with an electrical engineering degree. But now he leaves behind a heartbroken wife and a family struggling to understand why he was killed.

“What happened here destroyed a lot of lives,” said Javier. “He was a mild man. He was a very mild guy, he was not aggressive whatsoever.”

Adam’s murder was the third murder in Federal Way in a 48-hour period this week. Police said none of the victims in the individual cases knew each other and  Adam might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The shootings prompted police to warn neighbors to stay indoors when the sun goes down, especially near the BPA trails that run through the city.

Investigators are pleading with parents to talk with their children about what they might be hearing in school – anyone with tips can report anonymously at the city’s website.

“Even if you know just something very small that you might think is insignificant, if you put that in there, we might have three or four other people that put something small in there, too,” said Cathy Schrock, public information officer for the Federal Way Police Department. “Before you know it, we’re putting a case together against a suspect.”

Police have asked for help from neighboring law enforcement agencies and from the feds to search for clues in the killings.

Javier said he remembers his son as a mild and loving man with a bright future ahead of him. Adam’s family hopes that police will make arrests soon.

“I hope you bring this evil to justice,” said Javier.

Police and city leaders were planning an emergency public safety meeting Thursday night at City Hall. The meeting was scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and was open to the public.