We’re getting a new eyewitness account about the moment police opened fire on a man who witnesses say had been pointing a gun at people outside the Commons Mall in Federal Way.
Police say they got multiple 9-1-1 calls, starting around 6:40 pm Thursday. One of those calls came from Carlos Castro.
“It was just- it was shocking,” he told KIRO 7.
Carlos said it happened after he and his brother-in-law stopped to make a delivery at the mall.
“We pulled in. We saw a guy pointing at us. At first, I thought he was pointing with his hands. It wasn’t until we got closer that we realized, no, this is a gun.” Carlos said. “I was yelling. All you can hear is yelling; take a right. Take a right!” he told his brother.
“We took an immediate right, and as we looked in the rear-view mirror, he was still pointing at us, and that’s when I decided to call 9-1-1.”
Carlos said police arrived quickly after receiving the 9-1-1 calls. Police say one caller reported hearing the armed man say he was waiting for police.
When police tried to contact the man, they say he pointed the weapon at officers, who opened fire. “It was, first, three loud sounds,” said Carlos, describing the gunfire. He said the armed man “just fell on the ground.”
Carlos said thoughts of his family raced through his mind when he saw the gun, but he was torn between feelings as he watched the man – described as in his 20s or 30s – die at the scene.
“I felt kind of safe and relieved- that nothing happened to us. And I felt bad for him because you just don’t know what’s going on with him or what - you know - what he was going through.”
No one else was injured. Three officers involved in the shooting are on paid leave – which is standard – while the “Valley Independent Investigation Team” reviews the shooting.