3 suspects arrested in downtown Olympia shooting that left teen in critical condition
Police have arrested three suspects in a shooting at Percival Landing in downtown Olympia Friday afternoon that left a 16-year-old boy in critical condition.
The suspected shooter is a 20-year-old man, and the other two suspects are juveniles who the police believe conspired in the shooting.
The boy who was shot was in stable condition at Providence St. Peter Hospital on Saturday, according to Olympia Police Lt. Paul Lower.
Police believe the victim had planned to buy a firearm from the suspects in the parking lot adjacent to Percival Landing about 4 p.m. Friday, while the three suspects drove to the lot with plans to meet a group of people who were interested in the firearms and rob them.
As the victim looked at the firearms for sale and handed the suspects his money, police believe two suspects brought out guns and told him it was a robbery.
The victim grabbed his money back and began to run away, Lower said, and one suspect then shot the 16-year-old in the leg from behind, knocking him to the ground. The suspects drove away from the scene.
The parking lot was crowded at the time, and witnesses provided initial first aid before police and Olympia Fire Department arrived, Lower said. The fire department took the boy to the hospital for treatment.
Detectives interviewed multiple witnesses, and several downtown Olympia businesses offered detectives video surveillance footage, according to Lower. By about 8 p.m., detectives were able to visit the victim for a brief interview.
By 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning, police had all three suspects in custody — two were arrested at one Lacey home, and one at a separate Lacey residence, according to Lower. He said police found “multiple handguns” while executing search warrants.
Lacey Police Department assisted in the arrests, Lower said.
The 20-year-old suspected shooter was booked into Thurston County jail on suspicion of first-degree assault and first-degree robbery, according to jail records. The other two were booked into juvenile detention on the same charges, Lower said, as suspected co-conspirators.
The Olympian does not identify suspects by name until they have appeared in court and generally does not identify suspects charged as juveniles.
Police believe these three suspects are the only people who were involved in the shooting, and that all of the people involved knew each other.
“It was a very well-done case by our detectives,” Lower said. “Basically, they came in when that happened and didn’t get out until 5 this morning. They kept going at it until they had everyone responsible for this in custody. So, good job by our detectives and our patrol.”
This story was originally published March 21, 2020 at 11:59 AM.
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