Seattle police shoot, kill man outside southwest precinct

SEATTLE – Seattle police shot and killed a man Wednesday afternoon outside the department’s southwest precinct building in the Delridge neighborhood, according to detectives.

The shooting occurred shortly before 12:30 p.m. in the 2300 block of Southwest Webster Street, in the gated parking lot where officers keep their personal vehicles. The victim, a man, was reportedly armed with a knife.

Detective Eric Muñoz said several officers were on the scene and that attempts were made to verbally de-escalate the situation. When that was unsuccessful, officers shot the man with a less-lethal 40 mm foam projectile, which did not incapacitate the man.

Muñoz said one of the officers then shot the man. Officers performed emergency medical treatment, and medics from the Seattle Fire Department also responded, however the man was pronounced dead at the scene, he said.

The involved officer will be placed on administrative leave while the shooting is reviewed by the department’s Force Investigation Team. Representatives from the Seattle Office of Inspector General and the Office of Police Accountability also responded to the scene, Muñoz said.

The department is looking into a possible connection between the shooting at the precinct and 911 calls of a suicidal man made around the same time by patrons at the Home Depot next door.

In accordance with Seattle Police Department policy, body and dash camera video from the shooting will be released within 72 hours.