Police: Man killed, woman injured in shooting while interrupting car prowl in Tukwila

A man was killed and a woman was injured in a shooting in Tukwila’s Southcenter district Friday night, the Tukwila Police Department announced.

According to police, officers were called to a shooting at a Southcenter Mall parking garage around 6:39 p.m.

When officers arrived, they found a man with gunshot wounds. Police began lifesaving efforts until medics could arrive.

The man was pronounced dead on the scene. The woman suffered a non-life-threatening injury and was taken to an area hospital.

Police believe the couple interrupted a car prowl when the suspect opened fire before getting away in a vehicle.

The Tukwila Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit is investigating.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact TPD at tips@tukwilawa.gov or call 206-241-2121.

“There just seems to be a lot of crime going on these days, and it’s scary,” said shopper Claudia Traub.

This isn’t the first time someone was killed or hurt by gunfire at this mall.

Since 2015, there have been at least five shootings here, including a shooting inside the Cheesecake Factory that happened just a few months ago.

And last year on Nov. 24, Jashawna Brown was shot in the neck and spine in the parking lot. She died six days later.

“If I would have noticed some incident going on near by car, I don’t even think I would have walked by, I would have waited,” said shopper Elizabeth Villalobos-Menuey.

As we enter the busy holiday shopping season, going to malls and stores is inevitable. So we asked shoppers what they do to keep themselves safe.

“You need to be aware of your surroundings, you need to look at what everyone is wearing, you need to be aware,” said Villalobos-Menuey. “Don’t stare at your phone, don’t look down and also don’t act like you don’t know how to take care of yourself.”

“Big crowds nowadays, you have to be kind of cautious and be aware and so I think just taking precaution no matter what, whether you’re shopping or out and about doing anything I think you just have to be careful,” said Jade Carboy.

KIRO 7 has reached out to Tukwila police multiple times for updates on the shooting but have not yet heard back. We’ve also reached out to Southcenter Mall, but have not gotten a response.

On Sunday, the woman who was shot shared details about the incident in an emotional, exclusive interview with KIRO 7.

She did not want to be identified, but said after getting dinner at Southcenter, the couple went back to their car on the second floor of the parking garage.

That’s when a passerby alerted them that a car was being stolen, and it was their car.

She said her husband ran to try and get a look at the suspects when they got back into their own car, drove forward, and hit her husband. That’s when she says they started shooting.

“They just started opening fire through their windshield at him,” she said. “And he rolled off the car and ran towards me. He yelled for me to run and I hit the ground, and he fell to the ground a couple feet ahead of me.”

She said about 30 minutes later, paramedics told her that her husband did not survive. He was 30 years old.

She remembers him as one of the most selfless people she knew, saying they loved the outdoors, camping, and going to renaissance fairs.

She’s now pleading for the suspects who killed her husband to be caught.

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