Someone fired shots at a car on Highway 18 in Auburn on Wednesday, marking the seventh highway shooting in King County so far this year.
A passenger of a white Dodge Charger fired three shots at the victim’s car on the highway near Southeast 304th Street about 3:10 p.m., according to the State Patrol. Shots hit the rear door on the driver’s side and the left front fender.
The victim, who wasn’t hurt, exited the highway to Southeast 304th Street.
Later, a state trooper spotted the Charger in Tacoma as its driver exited southbound Interstate 5 toward South 72nd Street.
State Patrol troopers in cruisers and an aircraft followed the driver through Tacoma, back onto I-5 and off the freeway in Fife.
Meanwhile, someone called 911 and told officers they saw a gun thrown from the car. WSP officials found the weapon and placed it into evidence.
Eventually, the Charger arrived at an apartment complex, where the suspects abandoned the car — which was stolen — and fled on foot.
They left the scene in a white SUV that “appeared to be waiting for them,” according to WSP officials. They were able to drive away because troopers hadn’t yet arrived at the complex.
It wasn’t immediately clear why the Charger’s passenger initially fired at the victim’s vehicle in what Trooper Rick Johnson, a WSP spokesperson, said was the seventh shooting on King County highways so far this year.
There is no indication any of the seven highway shootings this year are related, as all vehicle descriptions are different, Johnson said Friday.
Among the incidents:
- A car was struck with multiple bullets Jan. 10 on Highway 167 near Algona. No injuries were reported.
- A man driving west on Highway 164 near Enumclaw reported his car was hit with a bullet Jan. 14. The driver wasn’t injured.
- A gunshot shattered the driver’s side window of a semi-trailer Jan. 15 on Highway 18 in Auburn. The driver wasn’t hurt.
WSP detectives are seeking information from people who saw the Charger before, during or after Wednesday’s shooting. They ask anyone with information to email russ.haake@wsp.wa.gov.