SEATTLE — A physical fight preceded a deadly shooting aboard a light rail train in downtown Seattle, according to court documents.
The suspect in the late February shooting turned himself in over the weekend, Seattle police announced Monday. KING 5 is not naming him because he has not been officially charged with a crime.
Police were called to the University Street Link light rail station at around 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 25 after multiple reports that there was a shooting aboard the train. Witnesses said the victim suffered a gunshot wound to the head and did not have a pulse. They said the suspect jumped off the train and ran southbound down the train tunnel.
When police arrived, they found the victim near the rear of the train with a gunshot wound to the back of the head. Seattle Fire Department medics declared him dead at the scene.
Police reviewed multiple videos which were captured on security camera footage aboard the train. Video showed the suspect and the victim riding near the rear of the train, separated by two rows of seats. The men appeared to interact a few times but largely left each other alone.
Video captured the victim getting up and walking in the aisle when it appeared that the suspect put his foot in the aisle, tripping the victim. The victim turned around and the suspect got up from his seat, "aggressing toward the victim with his hands/fists up in front of him," according to court documents.
The suspect and the victim started to fight until the suspect was seen placing his hand on the back of the victim's head with his elbow up - the victim instantly stopped fighting and fell to the floor.
Witnesses to the shooting recalled seeing the fight, hearing the gunshot and watching the suspect frantically trying to open the doors of the train. He tried to pry open the sliding doors, then asked another person riding the light rail how to get off. The man suggested the suspect try the emergency door handle, which succeeded in stopping the train and opening the door. That's when the suspect fled.
Members of Seattle's Latent Print Unit examined multiple different areas of the train, looking for possible fingerprints left by the suspect. They focused on the door the suspect had reportedly used to escape. The examiner said he gathered several high-quality prints from the door and nearby areas of the train.
A lawyer from the King County Public Defender's office reached out to Seattle police and said his client would arrange a surrender to investigators if they had probable cause to arrest him. At that time police did not. The public defender told a detective that his client would be exercising his right not to speak and declined a police interview.
Before that time, police did not know the suspect's identity. Authorities used that information to apply for a warrant to collect the suspect's fingerprints, which was granted by the judge. The examiner who collected the fingerprints from the train said he positively matched three prints from the train to the suspect.
King County prosecutors expect to make a formal charging decision in this case this week.