Early Tuesday morning, July 13, 2023 at about 12:19 a.m., Kent Patrol Officers were dispatched to the AMC Kent Station 14 Theater at 425 Ramsey Way, in response to multiple 911 calls of a shooting that had occurred inside.

Police say that Officers arrived within a minute of dispatch and observed a crowd of patrons exiting the theater. They were waved over to the south entrance where they located one victim just inside the doors. The victim, a 19-year-old Tukwila man, had an obvious wound to his chest area and was receiving CPR from one of his friends.

The Officers immediately began lifesaving efforts, including CPR, and placing a chest seal over the visible wound. The location of the suspect was unknown, so the Officers carried the victim out of the theater to a safe location where Medics had just arrived.

But sadly, despite lifesaving efforts, the man did not survive his injuries.

Additional Officers arrived and began to search inside for the suspect, while providing cover for patrons evacuating the theater. Kent Police requested Officers from neighboring department to assist with managing the crowd, while search efforts continued. The suspect, described as a “dark skinned male about 5’11” wearing a ski mask” was not located and is currently not identified.

Kent Police Homicide Detectives responded to the scene to interview witnesses and gather evidence. Three vehicles that may have been involved were impounded.

Detectives do not believe this is a random incident.

“This was a chaotic incident for both patrons and responding Officers,” Kent Police Chief Rafael Padilla said. “I want to commend the Officers for their quick response in providing immediate aid to the victim, while simultaneously evacuating the theater. We have solid leads in this investigation, and I am hopeful that we will identify and apprehend the suspect soon.”

If you have any information about this incident or what led up to the shooting, please contact the Kent Police Department:

Kent PD Tip Line: 253-856-5808
[email protected]

If your tip is time sensitive, please call 911 and reference case #23-7685

The 19-year-old was shot once and pronounced dead at the scene. https://t.co/2HtOoZsbbe

— KING 5 News (@KING5Seattle) June 13, 2023

A person was shot and killed inside a Kent movie theater overnight, local news outlets reported.

The shooting happened inside a showing of the new “Transformers” movie at the AMC Kent Station 14 around 12:30 a.m., outlets reported. https://t.co/GJXk5HO5Gy

— The Seattle Times (@seattletimes) June 13, 2023