SKYWAY, Wash. — King County sheriff’s detectives are searching for the men who shot and killed a man in his 20s Sunday morning in a Skyway parking lot.
A deputy heard multiple gunshots at 4:06 a.m. on Renton Avenue South near South 126th Street, according to Sgt. Cindi West.
Witnesses saw two men in a silver or gray Impala leaving the scene, said West in a press conference Sunday morning.
The year model of the car is not clear yet.
Naya Jean-Pierre was in her Hookah bar across the street when the shots rang out.
“I don't know him but I don't want to see anybody dead," Jean-Pierre said about the victim.
She was visibly shaken by the homicide and said it’s not just because she has 14-year-old twin boys.
“I'm from South Sudan. We have people dying every day in the road and everywhere. We come here and we see the same thing over and over again,” she said. “It hurts.
We've been through violence we don't want to see it again.”
The King County Sheriff's Office says the victim and possibly a passenger were leaving the shopping center’s parking lot when the suspects started shooting.
It woke some neighbors.
"I just heard shooting from my apartment,” said a man, who would only give his first name: Michael. “I live way over there! Just pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, or something."
Jean-Pierre says her bartender was outside and saw some of the violent encounter.
“There was a guy shooting four times on the red car, with a big gun, like da, da,da, da four times and she run away from it," said Jean-Pierre.
The bartender also saw a man in a black coat running from the car.
Detectives are trying to confirm that information.
Medics were not able to resuscitate the victim. He died at the scene, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
“We have quite a few witnesses. We’re hoping other people will come forward if they have more information and tell us what they saw,” said West.
There were dozens of evidence and bullet casing markers strewn across the parking lot.
Several cars in the area had bullet holes, including some windows.
No other injuries were reported.
A motorcycle club was gathering across the street, but deputies do not believe the club or the hookah lounge were involved, beyond being witnesses to the homicide.
Jean-Pierre says even with a sheriff’s precinct a few doors down, she hasn’t felt safe since opening her first bar in the Skyway location.
"I even tell my husband I really need to close this place. I didn't know this was a very violent area," she said.
King County sheriff's detectives are searching for a motive.
They found a gun inside the victim's car but do not know if it was fired.
KIRO
