The attempted arrest of a suspected child predator quickly turned deadly when Seattle officers were met at the door by a man drawing a gun.
Wednesday at the DoubleTree Suites hotel in Tukwila, Washington, to the south of Seattle, three officers from the Seattle Police Department awaited the arrival of a 67-year-old man. That man, according to the SPD, believed he was there to meet a seven- and an 11-year-old girl after Washington State Internet Crimes Against Children had helped set up the sting.
“For our officers, these situations are dangerous, unpredictable, and can escalate rapidly,” Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz explained Friday with the release of the bodycam footage of each of the officers.
The clip from the first officer’s body cam footage showed him, as he rapidly closed on the suspect who was drawing a gun. A struggle with the as-yet-unidentified man began over the firearm and a shot was fired before the third officer was able to fire twice toward the suspects. midsection.
New: Seattle police shoot and kill a 67-year-old pedoph*le who showed up at a hotel to meet up with two girls, 7 and 11 years old.
This is how it’s done
Seattle officers were waiting inside the hotel room when the man arrived.
When the police officers answered the door, the… pic.twitter.com/dBRNOnW3bp
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 20, 2024
As the suspect fell to the ground, each of the three officers could be seen backing away as two continued firing before rendering aid to the individual. The incident left one officer with a minor injury that was described as a graze wound to his leg.
The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.
“I was running, I could see someone firing a gun,” hotel guest Eric Wehrmeister, who had just checked out before the incident, told KOMO. “There was a rapid succession of gunfire. Good thing they were shooting away from my room. You know it could’ve been a lot worse.”
Prior to the release of the video Friday, the SPD issued a statement that read, “At 3:14 p.m., SPD Officers were conducting an Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce operation when an [officer] involved shooting occurred. An [officer] suffered a minor injury, the suspect was deceased at the scene. The Force Investigation Team is investigating per protocol.”
At 3:14 p.m., SPD Officers were conducting an Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce operation when an Ofc involved shooting occurred. An Ofc suffered a minor injury, the suspect was deceased at the scene. The Force Investigation Team is investigating per protocol.
— Seattle Police Department (@SeattlePD) April 18, 2024
“An officer does not have to wait to be fired at before deadly force is justified,” former FBI special agent Nicole Parker told Fox News Digital. “Officers apply deadly force until the subject no longer presents a threat and in this instance, it appears that is exactly what they did. This was a lawful use of deadly force.”
Parker also relayed that two of her former FBI colleagues had been shot dead while executing a search warrant for a child predator three years prior.
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), reports of the varied crimes against children have been on the rise in recent years. Their CyberTipline was said to have received over 36 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation in 2023 alone, an increase from over 10.2 million in 2017.
Additionally, their data detailed over 18,400 reports of possible child sex trafficking in 2023 and more than 82 million reports of child sexual abuse material as online enticement reports had climbed over 300% over the previous two years.
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Author: Kevin Haggerty
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