Stabbing of man and dog ‘completely unprovoked;' Shoreline police shoot and kill suspect

SHORELINE, Wash. — A stabbing led Shoreline police to shoot and kill a suspect on Thursday morning outside the Linden Highlands Apartments at 17520 Linden Ave. North.

Investigators are calling what happened rare because the stabbing was “completely random and unprovoked,” said Sgt. Ryan Abbott of the King County Sheriff’s Office.

Abbott said a 62-year-old man was walking his German shepherd when he noticed someone following him – and suddenly, the suspect was stabbing him and also stabbed his dog.

The sheriff’s office reported the suspect also tried to stab someone else a few blocks away before detectives found him outside the apartment complex.

“We could hear the police say, ‘Drop the knife. Drop the knife!’” said Billy Hoffman, who lives at the apartment complex.

Hoffman said he also heard tires screeching and gunfire erupt.

“It was rapid-fire. Probably about five. It went, ‘bap, bap, bap, bap, bap!’” Hoffman said.

The shots reverberated around the quiet neighborhood.

“I heard a lot of bangs,” said Bill Santee, another neighbor.

“It must’ve been a semi-automatic because it was rapid-fire,” said Molly Thole, who lives a half-block away. “It’s scary. It startled us, and we were both dead asleep, and it woke us up,” she said.

Abbott said the victim was almost home when the attack happened.

“The suspect stabbed the victim in the back as he was walking; the victim then turned. The suspect then stabbed the dog,” Abbott said. “It was completely unprovoked. As far as we’re aware, nothing was even said before he was stabbed,” he said.

Investigators said the 62-year-old man managed to pick up his dog, get home and call 911.

Abbott said Shoreline police arrived at the scene within two minutes and started tracking the suspect with K-9 teams. Meanwhile, Abbott said the suspect also tried to stab another victim nearby.

“They were confronted by that same suspect by description, and the suspect had attempted to stab this second person. Thankfully, he was able to fight him off,” Abbott said.

Shortly after, Shoreline detectives located the suspect outside the Linden Highlands Apartment complex.

“I noticed the police, and then I hear the tires screeching — and I look over and then the shots,” Hoffman said. “I saw the guy go down. They rushed in, tried to save him,” he said.

Hoffman said the suspect is well known to the neighborhood.

“We’ve had so many troubles with him,” he said. “It was insane, quite scary. I’m still shaking because of it,” he said.

At 10 a.m. Thursday, the sheriff’s office reported the victim who was stabbed was in stable condition and at Harborview Medical Center recovering from two stab wounds. At about 8:55 p.m., officials with Harborview said the victim was discharged. The victim’s dog was also treated at a vet’s office.

The Seattle Police Department FIT team is investigating the officer-involved shooting portion of the case.

Cox Media Group