Search continues for Renton road rage shooter; young victim improving

A 9-year-old boy is still hospitalized after he was shot in the face and chest during a road rage incident on state Route 167 in Renton.

Isaiah Johns is improving, although he is still in serious condition at Harborview Medical Center.

The search is on for whoever shot him Friday afternoon.

Washington State Patrol troopers have a photo of what they believe is the suspect’s vehicle but little else.

They are asking for the public’s help to identify the driver.

Right now, they believe that may be the best way to solve this crime.

That shooting happened along busy SR 167, into Renton.

Johns is in a place his family likely never imagined — the ICU at Harborview Medical Center — fighting to survive, an innocent, caught in the middle of a road rage incident on SR 167.

“I thought it was very sad, to be honest,” said Jacob Joseph. “I heard he was a 9-year-old boy shot in the mouth.”

Joseph, who lives in Newcastle, had already heard the sad news when we met him.

“I have two kids myself,” Joseph said. “I have a 2-month-old baby and a 2 year old. So, if you ever get in that situation, and you’ve got kids in your car, I think you can stay out of it as you can because you never know the retaliation of the person that has the road rage.”

The Washington State Patrol says this latest incident of road rage happened at about 2:35 p.m. Friday.

Isaiah was a passenger in a Dodge Durango on SR 167 when a driver in another vehicle opened fire, hitting him in the mouth and chest.

The suspect fled in this dark blue Ford Mustang convertible on Southwest Grady Way toward SE Carr Road and disappeared.

“Sometimes I worry about it,” said Fahmi Guled of Seattle.

It isn’t lost on drivers like Guled, that they, too, could be a victim of road rage.

“‘Cause obviously you don’t know what kind of day someone is having,” Guled said. “And if you cut ‘em off, you know, it could just be the tipping point.”

Joseph was asked what he thinks drivers should do.

“Tell ‘em sorry, a few times,” he said. “If someone gives you the finger, I don’t think that you should engage and give them the finger back. Probably best to let them go ahead of you, maybe pull off to the side and go another route.”

The Washington State Patrol says the driver of the vehicle that Isaiah was in tried to do just that.

If you have any information about the driver, you’re asked to call 911.

The good news is, Isaiah is getting better. Still, his mother says he has a long road ahead.

The family has set up a GoFundMe account for those who would like to donate and help Isaiah on his road of recovery.

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