SEATTLE — A 36-year-old man convicted of crimes he committed during a shooting rampage in Seattle's Lake City neighborhood in 2019 was sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Tad Michael Norman pleaded guilty March 23 to second-degree murder, vehicular homicide, and three counts of first-degree assault. He was sentenced April 22.
He was also ordered to 36 months of community custody and told to have no contact with the survivors of his attack or the family of those he killed.
The rampage began after Norman walked out of an apartment near Sand Point Way around 4 p.m. and attempted to carjack a vehicle. Police said he shot a 56-year-old female driver, identified at Deborah Judd, a second-grade teacher in Seattle.
Judd survived the shooting.
Police said after Norman shot Judd, he walked into the street and shot into a Metro bus on Sand Point Way. The bus driver on Metro Route 75 was shot in the torso, but managed to turn the bus around and drive away from the gunman. The bus driver, identified as 53-year-old Eric Stark, walked to medics for help and was taken to Harborview Medical Center. Metro said 12 people were on board the bus at the time, but no passengers were hurt.
After firing at the bus, Norman approached a red Prius and continued shooting, killing the 76-year-old driver, identified as Robert Hassan, according to police at the time.
When police arrived, Norman climbed into Hassan's Prius and sped away.
Norman crashed into another vehicle, killing the other driver, identified as 76-year-old Richard Lee.
At some point during the rampage, Norman also fired two shots at a woman who was not injured.
Norman was taken into custody after a brief standoff with police. The probable cause statement filed by a detective said Norman told investigators that he had been in an alcoholic blackout and didn't remember the shootings.
Norman pleaded not guilty in April 2019.
Norman had no known criminal history, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.