A man who was shot and killed by a King County sheriff's deputy for carrying a knife was actually carrying a pen, the sheriff's office said Thursday.
Tommy Le, a Burien man, was shot just before midnight on June 13 by King County Sheriff Deputy Cesar Molina.
Molina had more than two years of experience in Los Angeles, Sgt. Cindi West said. He's also worked for King County for more than two years.
He completed the 40-hour crisis intervention training, West said.
Toxicology results from the incident are still pending for Le, she said.
Deputies responded to a 911 call of shots being fired in the 13600 block of 3rd Avenue South in Burien. The suspect claimed to be "The Creator" during the June 13 incident.
A homeowner called to report he fired a warning shot at a man, who was coming at him with what he thought was a knife, according to a news release. Before that, the homeowner said a friend knocked on his door saying someone was chasing him with a knife.
The homeowner went outside with a handgun to see what was going on, when the suspect started advancing on him, too. The homeowner fired into the ground and ran back into his house. He slammed the door just before the suspect arrived and began pounding on the door, the sheriff's office said.
When deputies arrived, the suspect was still in front of the house. They ordered him to get on the ground and drop what he was holding, but he refused.
The suspect began charging at the deputies, who fired their tasers. The tasers didn't stop the suspect, and Molina fired at least one round, hitting the suspect in the torso, according to the news release.
King County is the contract police service provider for Burien.
