A man with a two year old boy was shot in Burien Tuesday evening. The man died, the two year old was unhurt. There are currently no suspect and no arrests have been made in the case.
This comes as a spike in area gun violence draws the attention of both police and the King County Prosecuting Attorney's office.
In the first three months of 2021, there were 16 homicide victims across King County, another 53 non-fatal shooting victims and 253 total shots fired incidents.
"Dispatchers received several 911 calls around 8:18 P.M. about hearing gunshots. The man crashed his car in someone’s yard at the intersection of SW 128th St and 4th Ave SW in Burien. When officers arrived on the scene, they found the man inside with at least one gunshot wound. The suspect was already gone. The young boy was not hurt, but the man died at a hospital from his injuries.
Evidence and witness statements will be key for detectives in the Major Crimes Unit since not much else is known about what happened.
"They’re going to tell that story, but it takes time to develop it and build a good, solid case," said Sgt. Tim Meyer, public information officers for the King County Sheriff’s Office.
Meyer said the shooting in Burien is the county’s 17th homicide so far in 2021, the 10th killing in just the last month alone.
"We are concerned about the uptick in gun violence. We’ve seen it in every community, no one is untouched by this," said Meyer. "This trend, increased gun violence and homicides, is one we absolutely want to investigate and stop."
Meyer explained most of the homicides are happening in southwest King County. To curve the violence, he said the sheriff’s office will be putting more boots to the ground.
"We think that relationship building is going to be critical in what we’re doing—looking specifically in communities like White Center, Skyway, those communities there can expect an increased presence," said Meyer. "[Deputies] are going to be out of their car, walking around, engaged. When know when we recommit to those fundamentals, good things are going to happen and we’re going to get this trend turned around."
He mentioned the sheriff’s office is working with the county government to fund resources towards safer communities.
"Ultimately there’s got to be a measure of accountability there as well as we work in the system that we have—whether it’s with our courts, our prosecutors, community stakeholders, and others. No one entity can fix this," said Meyer.
Anyone who thinks they have information about the shooting in Burien, or any of the 17 homicides, is asked to call the sheriff’s office right away at 206-296-3311. The tips could lead to an arrest."
