EVERETT, Wash — A robbery suspect was shot and killed by police after the suspect shot an Everett officer in the head Wednesday morning.
Around 3:10 a.m., Everett police responded to a report of a robbery in the 7600 block of Evergreen Way, according to a release from the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team (SMART).
Upon a search for suspects, officers located someone near the 8600 block of Evergreen Way. As an officer approached the scene in his patrol vehicle, the suspect fired multiple shots at the officer, one of which struck the officer in the head.
The suspect fled across the street and was confronted by a second Everett officer. The suspect was shot and declared dead at the scene.
The injured officer was taken to Providence Regional Medical Center by another officer via a patrol car. The officer is in stable condition.
Three suspects involved in the initial robbery have not been located, and the investigation remains active.
The Independent Force Investigations team is investigating, which is standard practice for any shooting involving a law enforcement officer.
Everett Police Chief Dan Templeman issued the following statement after the shooting:
“This morning a member of our Everett police family was senselessly shot while investigating a robbery complaint in south Everett. Both Mayor Cassie Franklin and I have the utmost respect and admiration for the difficult and dangerous work our law enforcement professionals perform, day in and day out. Our focus right now is on supporting our officer and his family as he recovers from his injuries but ask our entire community to please keep not only our officer and his family in their thoughts, but all members of the Everett Police Department.”
This is the second officer who was shot in western Washington within one week. On Monday, a King County Sheriff's detective was shot and critically injured while serving a final notice of eviction in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle.
Steve Strachan of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs said it's an alarming trend.
"There seems to be a lot of volatility in the contacts that our officers and our deputies in our state (experience)," Strachan said. "I'm seeing that anecdotally, but the numbers are bearing that out."
Strachan pointed to a 20% increase in assaults on officers in Washington state in 2022 compared to 2021.
'This area has gotten bad'
The violence made for a quiet day at Fast Eddie's Tire Pros along Evergreen Way, which was shut down for blocks due to the shooting.
Ed Hemp's family has run the shop for 42 years.
"This area has gotten bad," he said.
Hemp said the level of crime, drugs and violence in the area is out of control.
"A month-and-a-half ago there was a big shooting behind us," he continued. "They locked us down for a few hours as they dealt with it back there... The area is just changing."