By Dave Workman
Seattle Police are still investigating a shooting incident early Sunday morning in which two of four suspected carjackers were shot by their intended victim on a downtown Seattle street when they reportedly approached the armed citizen with guns drawn.
According to the Seattle Police Blotter, one of the wounded suspects fell at the scene and was transported to Harborview Medical Center and is under police guard. The second wounded suspect was reportedly dumped at Harborview a short time later. The two others fled.
The unidentified armed citizen was taken to the police station, interviewed and released. Police kept his sidearm as evidence, which is a normal procedure.
Both wounded suspects were in serious condition, according to published reports.
KING News is reporting the incident occurred at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday. The armed citizen is described as a 24-year-old. He is reportedly legally licensed to carry concealed in Washington state, which does not allow “Constitutional carry” without a CPL.
There is some confusion among news readers about the term “licensed gun owner” being used by local media. This refers only to his possession of a CPL. Washington law does not require gun owner licensing.
According to KOMO News, the intended victim had parked his sports car when a white sedan with four masked occupants approached. Two individuals were armed and after “a brief exchange,” the two armed men attempted to steal the armed citizen ‘s car. Instead, he opened fire.
According to the state Department of Licensing, as of Nov. 1, there were more than 711,000 active concealed pistol licenses in the state, including more than 115,000 in King County, which encompasses Seattle.
Under Washington state’s use-of-force statute, “The use, attempt, or offer to use force upon or toward the person of another is not unlawful in the following cases:
(3) Whenever used by a party about to be injured, or by another lawfully aiding him or her, in preventing or attempting to prevent an offense against his or her person, or a malicious trespass, or other malicious interference with real or personal property lawfully in his or her possession, in case the force is not more than is necessary.”
Based on information so far available, the armed citizen was facing a definite “use of force” scenario with two armed suspects confronting him. It will be up to the King County Prosecutor’s office to make a final determination, but Washington’s self-defense and use-of-force statutes are pretty clearly stated.
Washington is also a stand-your-ground state as court rulings have repeatedly held there is “no duty to retreat” in the state.
KIRO News reported the armed citizen “fired multiple rounds in self-defense” and hit the two suspects.
Workman is editor-in-chief at TheGunMag.com
