RENTON, Wash. — The King County Prosecutor’s Office says there is insufficient evidence to file charges in a shooting at the Renton Transit Center that left one man injured on July 11.
The two suspects have appeared in court but after ten senior deputy prosecutors reviewed the case, they could not rule out self-defense and said charges will not be filed, the King County Prosecutor’s Office said.
In a memo from the Renton Police Department, investigators reviewed security video from the transit center and detailed the events that unfolded.
On July 11 at around 3:15 p.m., two men and a woman were standing together at the transit center when the woman was allegedly attacked unprovoked by a transient man with a PVC pipe, the memo said.
Police say the two men were allegedly armed and got into a fight with the transient man, firing multiple gunshots, which struck and injured the man.
Renton Police Chief Jon Schuldt says he disagrees with the prosecutor’s decision.
“I am disappointed in the decision by the King County Prosecutor’s Office not to file felony assault charges against the two suspects in this case,” he said.
“The decision to use a firearm in this situation was entirely unreasonable—grossly disproportionate to the threat faced—and put innocent members of the public at serious risk. I believe there were sufficient facts to charge them appropriately," he continued.
Renton Police say the transient man argued he was performing a sermon at the transit station and the woman ‘disrespected’ his sermon and allegedly admitted to hitting her.
The King County Prosecutor’s Office says after reviewing the evidence, charges will not be filed against the two men as self-defense could not reasonably be ruled out with the transient man allegedly attacking the group first.
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