Suspects bound victims with zip-ties and opened fire, though their motive remains unclear.
SUMMIT, WA — At 6:37 a.m. on Monday , deputies responded to a call of multiple shots fired at a vacant property located along 50th Ave. E. near the intersection with 112th St. E. in the Summit area.
As the first deputy drove up to the scene, he immediately observed a man standing in the roadway with his hands bound with zip ties. The deputy cut the zip-ties from the victim’s hands and learned that three suspects had fled the scene prior in a black Chevrolet Silverado truck.
Deputies learned that the victim and a friend were sleeping outside by a fire, when they woke to two suspects shining flashlights in their faces. The suspects bound the victims’ hands with zip-ties and then hit one of the victims with the butt end of a rifle. Deputies learned that one of the zip-tied victims had fled the scene on foot; he was found later him a few blocks away and our deputies cut the zip-ties from his hands.
The suspects reportedly ordered the occupants of a nearby camper trailer to exit, and then fired a round into the trailer when the victims did not come out. The two victims sleeping inside the trailer took cover on the floor their trailer, as the suspects fired multiple additional shots into the trailer before fleeing the scene. There were no injuries reported.
During a security sweep of the property, deputies located numerous vehicles, motorcycles, ATVs, boats, tools, generators, and other items on the property that were missing VINs and plates or had punched ignitions. Deputies also observed that a lock on a gate to access the property had been cut, and a pair of bolt cutters were found next to the gate.
A rookie deputy – who just graduated from the academy a couple of weeks ago – was responding to the scene with his field training officer, when he spotted a truck matching the description in a parking lot at 121st and Canyon Rd. E. The rookie deputy made a quick u-turn to get behind the suspects’ truck and was joined by one of his academy classmates, who had also spotted the truck while responding to the call with her field training officer.
The two rookies and their training partners conducted a felony stop on the truck along Canyon Rd. and placed the male driver, a male passenger, and a female passenger into custody. Deputies observed a firearm handgun in plain view inside the suspects’ truck, and one of the male suspects was found in possession of zip-ties and a night vision style thermal camera. The truck was impounded for a pending search warrant by detectives.
The three suspects were all booked into the Pierce County Jail for four counts of Assault in the 1st degree, one count of Burglary in the 1st degree, and two counts of Kidnapping in the 1st degree. The suspects are a 36 year old male suspect from Seattle, a 41 year old female from Bellevue, and a 42 year old male from Federal Way.
Detectives are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the shooting and the property where the incident occurred.
