BOTHELL, Wash. – Detectives with the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team (SMART) released a report Friday saying they believe the bullet that killed Bothell Police officer Jonathan Shoop came from his partner’s firearm during crossfire with an armed suspect Monday night.
Officer Jonathan Shoop, 32, died on scene Monday during a traffic stop gone awry. A second officer, Officer Mustafa Kumcur, was also hurt following a gun battle and brief pursuit with the suspect, identified as Henry Eugene Washington.
On Friday, the King County Prosecutor’s Office filed three felony charges against Washington. The charges included Aggravated Murder in the First Degree, Attempted Murder in the First Degree and Vehicular Assault, KOMO reported.
Charging documents said, “The fact that Mr. Washington did not fire the fatal shot is immaterial to his culpability in this crime. But for Mr. Washington’s directed attack on the officers, Officer Shoop would be alive today.”
According to the report from SMART, the two Bothell Police officers initiated a traffic stop on a black Pontiac G6 on SR522 just before 10 p.m. on Monday. The driver initially stopped, but then sped away, striking a pedestrian riding a scooter in a crosswalk, before crashing.
Detectives say the suspect got out of the Pontiac and approached the driver’s side of the officer’s car. Detectives believe the suspect then fired two rounds into the patrol car.
One broke the driver’s side window and the other hit Officer Kumcur’s firearm, ricocheted, and struck him in the head. Detectives believe the officer then fired multiple shots, one of which struck and killed Officer Shoop in the crossfire, the report says.
After the shooting ended, detectives say the patrol car drove forward, striking the Pontiac which caused it to roll several hundred yards before coming to a stop against a tree.
Responding units found the suspect on a roof of a nearby business, Law Officer reported.
Detectives say the suspect admitted to driving his car away from a traffic stop, hitting a pedestrian, and then shooting into the Bothell Police patrol car, the SMART report says.
Bothell City Manager Jennifer Phillips released a statement on Friday saying “Based on the investigation updates, it appears there was a tragic crossfire situation that resulted in the death of one of our officers. Let us be clear, we believe the actions of the suspect led to this tragic event.”
On Wednesday, Washington’s mother, Carolyn Washington, told KOMO News that her son, who was on a brief visit to the Seattle area, was not in his right mind.
“For them to lose their family. their brother, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” she said. “They have my deepest sympathies.”
She said her son lives with her in Central Texas and works in the construction industry.
“We know my son didn’t intentionally do that,” she said. “We know if he had been in his right mind, he never would have done (nothing) like that.”
