Renton, Washington: Firefighter Shot on Medical Call in Albertsons Lot, Suspect Killed by Police

A Renton firefighter who was shot on a medical call on Thursday night was released from the hospital on Friday, a day after police shot and killed the suspect in a grocery store parking lot on Northeast Sunset Boulevard.

Renton police said officers were called at about 8:30 p.m. on Thursday to the parking lot in the 4600 block of Northeast Sunset Boulevard, near Duvall Avenue Northeast, to help firefighters who were responding to an unconscious person in a vehicle. As officers arrived, they heard a gunshot, and a firefighter at the scene was struck. Officers returned fire, and the suspect died at the scene, police said.

What happened in the parking lot

The call began as a medical response. Fire crews were sent to the Albertsons parking lot for a person found unconscious in a vehicle, and police were asked to assist. Police have not said what led up to the shooting, or whether the suspect fired at officers. Video shared with FOX 13 Seattle appears to show multiple officers firing into a van in the parking lot.

Police said the shooting prompted a multi-agency investigation, as officer-involved shootings in King County are reviewed by an independent team. Neither the firefighter nor the suspect has been publicly named by officials, and no details about the person originally found unconscious in the vehicle have been released.

A new firefighter, home from the hospital

The wounded firefighter was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and was listed in stable condition on Thursday night. He was released from the hospital on Friday, FOX 13 Seattle reported. Union representative Chris Krystofiak of the Renton Regional Fire Authority said the firefighter is a brand new member of the department. He said firefighters at the scene did what they are trained to do and immediately began caring for one of their own.

The Renton Firefighters union, IAFF Local 864, called it a horrific situation no firefighter should ever find themselves in and asked the public to keep the injured firefighter in their thoughts. FOX 13 reported that no fundraising page has been set up for him, and that people who want to help can support the Renton Firefighters Benevolent Association.

The investigation

The Valley Independent Investigative Team is now investigating the officer-involved shooting, with the Auburn Police Department as the lead agency. Investigators will work out the sequence of the gunfire, including who fired first and how the firefighter was wounded. Police said on Thursday night that more details would be released on Friday, and the investigation is still open.

For drivers and shoppers in the Sunset Boulevard corridor, the shooting closed off part of a busy shopping center on an ordinary Thursday evening, and left a first responder in the hospital on what began as a routine medical call.