UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. — The 44-year-old man who left at least six people injured in a shooting spree on Interstate 5 on Sept. 2 told police he had received threats that made him fear for his life, according to a statement of probable cause.
The man, who has not been formally charged, is being held on $1 million bail in King County Jail after the prosecuting attorney's office found probable cause for five counts of first-degree assault with firearm enhancements on Sept. 4.
The first shooting was reported at 8:26 p.m. when the suspect, driving a white Volvo, fired several rounds at a Tesla, striking a female passenger in her torso. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Critical condition.
The driver of the Tesla said the shooter was wearing a ski mask.
The shooting spree continued from there, with the suspect leaving behind six crime scenes between 8:26 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Police learned the California license plate on the Volvo was associated with the suspect out of University Place. State troopers and University Place and Fircrest police patrolled the area and eventually found the vehicle - disabling it with spike stripes.
The suspect was arrested.
While in custody, the suspect said he was trying to get help from police because people are "stealing his identity, making threats and following him," according to the statement of probable cause. He said the threats made him fear for his life, adding "he would take matters of protecting himself into his own hands."
The suspect said a friend loaned him a Glock handgun.
The suspect said he believed he was being followed and people were trying to run him off the road. He told police he shot at vehicles four or five times. He added he had driven from Tacoma to Everett and was shooting at people who were following him, according to the statement of probable cause.
The suspect told police he loaded the handgun himself and that it was located in his vehicle's center console.
A handgun was later found between the center console and the front passenger seat. A gun magazine and loose ammunition were found in the vehicle as well.
The driver of one of the vehicles that was shot during the crime spree said he was in the car with his wife and two children at the time. It wasn't until they got out of the car when they saw the bullet holes.
"Oh, this could have been worse. This could've been drastically worse," he said.
'All I could think about was how close the bullet was to my kids'
One victim, who preferred to remain anonymous, said it will be a long time until she feels comfortable going on a freeway again.
"All I could think about was how close the bullet was to my kids," she said. "I think the worst part is my 7-year-old seeing all of that. It just isn’t fair.”
Her 3-year-old was also in the car. Her father-in-law was driving and her husband was in the front passenger seat.
The family had just returned from a trip to San Diego for Labor Day weekend and was driving home from the airport on I-5 South around 11 p.m. when the unthinkable happened.
"I thought like, 'This is it. They’re both going to die,'" she said. "The bullet got my husband and father-in-law in their legs... One bullet traveled through and hit both of them.”
She made sure to mention that she does not feel that this was an act of road rage.
"It was definitely unprovoked. We were just driving," she said.
She said she noticed a white car driving erratically. She said it then pulled up beside them, while in motion.
"I was expecting to see someone on their phone distracted driving, and instead, I saw someone leaning out of their car looking at us with a gun," she said.
As recently as the day before, court documents show the suspect had been at Tacoma General Hospital “for an evaluation” and that the suspect had recently become homeless.
"I didn’t consider a mass shooting on a freeway. I thought that’s like the one safe place that we have. But it doesn’t—I guess it’s not," she said.
She continued, "My youngest daughter now wants to be a firefighter because she says they’re real heroes. Superheroes.”