A 15-year-old boy has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old girl who was found wounded in a Kent parking lot earlier this month, according to the Kent Police Department.
Police said officers, Puget Sound Fire personnel and medics responded at about 4:21 a.m. on June 3 to the 400 block of Alder Lane (map below) after receiving multiple 911 calls reporting a shooting.
When officers arrived, they found the 16-year-old victim suffering from a gunshot wound in a parking lot. Officers immediately began life-saving measures until relieved by medical personnel, but sadly, the girl died from her injuries.
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled her death a homicide.
Over the following weeks, detectives conducted what the department described as an extensive investigation that included interviewing witnesses, collecting and analyzing physical evidence, canvassing the area for surveillance video, serving multiple search warrants and reviewing digital evidence.
Prosecutors allege the teen suspect — who has not been publicly identified because of his age — opened fire from an elevated position on the Green River levee at approximately 4:21 a.m., discharging as many as eight rounds toward a group of teenagers gathered in the parking lot below. Court records allege he intended to shoot a rival gang member but struck the victim instead.
According to charging documents, a witness told investigators the suspect was armed, appeared upset about the situation unfolding below and indicated he intended to shoot one of the arriving males before climbing the levee and positioning himself above the group. Detectives found spent shell casings near the Green River Trail. Cell phone records placed the suspect’s device on a tower covering the area at the time of the shooting, court records show.
Investigators arrested the suspect June 18 at an apartment complex in Seattle. Officers recovered a Glock Model 30 pistol equipped with a 26-round extended magazine and a Glock switch — a device that converts the firearm to fully automatic fire and is illegal under federal law.
In addition to first-degree murder, the suspect faces four counts of first-degree assault, one count of first-degree unlawful firearm possession and one count of unlawful possession of a machine gun part.
Court records show the suspect had prior convictions for second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of second-degree unlawful firearm possession and reckless endangerment. He was subject to an active warrant for violating juvenile parole conditions at the time of the shooting.
“Violence involving our youth has devastating consequences for families and our community. I commend the officers and detectives whose efforts and relentless pursuit of the evidence ensured the suspect was located and arrested. At the same time, our thoughts remain with the victim’s family,” Kent Police Chief Rafael Padilla said in a statement.
Prosecutors filed a motion to try the suspect as an adult. King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesman Casey McNerthney cautioned the process will not be resolved quickly.
“That determination will be made by a judge after hearing from prosecutors and defense, which is a process that typically takes several months,” McNerthney said.
A status conference is scheduled for Aug. 4. The juvenile jurisdiction decline hearing — at which a judge will decide whether to move the case to adult court — is set for Sept. 14. The suspect is being held at the Clark Child and Family Justice Center in Seattle.
