When a legally armed citizen intervened in a shooting in downtown Seattle, killing the suspect who had just wounded two victims, there was not a sound heard from the billionaire-backed gun prohibition lobby headquartered in the city, nor the anti-gun mayor.
It’s a rather awkward situation for Mayor Bruce Harrell and his gun ban allies, who would have the world believe guns are only bad, and gun owners are worse.
The unidentified armed bystander remained at the scene and cooperated with police. Investigators recovered the suspect’s gun, which he was carrying illegally because he was only 16, and the Samaritan was not arrested. What’s so special about this incident?
A string of far-left Seattle mayors and state legislators have been trying for years to make it difficult, if not impossible, for law-abiding citizens to carry guns in the Jet City. The city was successfully sued by the Second Amendment Foundation and National Rifle Association in 2012 after trying to ban guns in city park facilities, in direct violation of the state’s long-standing preemption law.
Subsequent attempts by the city to repeal state preemption have been rejected by the Democrat-controlled legislature.
The incident was put in perspective by Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, who observed, “In a city where political policies have resulted in reduced police manpower while placing limits on the officers who remain, it should come as no surprise that an increasing number of law-abiding citizens are now licensed to carry firearms for their personal protection. Seattle and King County have the highest number of active licenses of any county in the state. Coincidentally, just a few blocks away at about the same time, there was a fatal stabbing, which says a lot about crime in the city.”
An online poll by KOMO News, the local ABC affiliate, showed that an overwhelming 70 percent of respondents say their feeling of safety when working or visiting downtown Seattle is low.
Preliminary indications so far suggest the armed citizen’s intervention looked like a “clean shoot.” Here are the reasons for taking that perspective:
State court rulings have made it clear there is no duty to retreat in Washington state.
The Evergreen State has—despite passage of draconian gun control laws in recent years—solid statutes covering the use of force.
Under RCW 9A.16.020, force is lawful “Whenever necessarily used by a person arresting one who has committed a felony and delivering him or her to a public officer competent to receive him or her into custody;
“Whenever used by a party about to be injured, or by another lawfully aiding him or her, in preventing or attempting to prevent an offense against his or her person, or a malicious trespass, or other malicious interference with real or personal property lawfully in his or her possession, in case the force is not more than is necessary…”
Then there is RCW 9A.16.050, which covers homicide by a private citizen. This statute explains, “Homicide is also justifiable when committed either:
“(1) In the lawful defense of the slayer, or his or her husband, wife, parent, child, brother, or sister, or of any other person in his or her presence or company, when there is reasonable ground to apprehend a design on the part of the person slain to commit a felony or to do some great personal injury to the slayer or to any such person, and there is imminent danger of such design being accomplished; or
“(2) In the actual resistance of an attempt to commit a felony upon the slayer, in his or her presence, or upon or in a dwelling, or other place of abode, in which he or she is.”
Perhaps also by no surprise, coverage of the incident by the traditionally liberal and anti-gun Seattle Times quickly disappeared from the newspaper’s website, but not before it correctly acknowledged the suspect was stopped by a legally armed citizen.
According to the state Department of Licensing, King County, which encompasses Seattle, has the highest number of active concealed pistol licenses of any county in the state, more than 112,000 at the end of April. There are 705,000 active CPLs statewide, which translates to about 1 in every 9 eligible adults in the state being licensed to carry.
Former King County Sheriff John Urquhart told KING5 News, the local NBC affiliate, that the ultimate decision whether the armed citizen acted within the parameters of state law will come from the county prosecutor’s office. The former sheriff now acts as a law enforcement analyst for the station.
However, Urquhart observed, “The fact that the citizen was not arrested, was not booked, is not being described as a suspect, leads me to believe Seattle police see this as a legal and justified use of force.”
All of this may put Mayor Harrell in the uncomfortable position of having to acknowledge a legally armed bystander stopped an illegally armed would-be killer from causing further mayhem. That is, if he says anything at all. Harrell is known for dodging issues which may put him in an unfavorable position with his hard-left Seattle constituents, and it is an election year.
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About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
Why isn’t the left out there crying that we need more armed citizens? This is proof that it works, and less people were killed because of it.
Best part is the ass hole shooter is dead saving us thousands in tax dollars and clean up on the city was accomplished along with increasing the safety all done in one swoop.
It’s a total win, win!!! Why not promote it like they do taking away guns? Oh ya, it’s a leftist state like mine and the entire left coast.
You are one less felon safer Bigfoot Bob.
Seattle will probably pass a new law stating that a defensive shooter has to be shot at least two times by an assailant before they can return fire.
Currently 92% of 4,289 respondents are “OK with it” when asked “How do you feel about armed civilians using guns to stop a suspected shooter?” https://komonews.com/news/local/three-injured-in-downtown-seattle-shooting-spd-police-department-gun-violence-king-county-investigation-99-union-street-victims
Washington State still has “his or her”, “husband” and “wife” in its laws? They better get that fixed.
Watch where the funding comes for the civil suit soon to be filed against the shooter though
The now dead shooter was just 16 years old.
That means that the legally armed defender saved Washington State hundreds of thousands of dollars,maybe millions, in prison warehousing, prosecution, public defender, and medical treatment, not to mention the lives, welfare and property of countless future victims.
I’d say Washingtonians owe him a huge debt of gratitude.
I my first duty station was NAS Whidbey Island. I was up there during the WHO riots. I always love the beauty of the region, but H A T E D Seattle.
Fawk SeattIe.
Commierado had a muslime terrorist burning people alive today at a support Israel movement that meets every week in the same spot. He, the muslime Mohammad burned 6 people. This is the kind of shit that happens when you have unarmed sheeple. The attacker knew that 65 to 85 year old protesters most likely would not be armed. If Commierado had constitutional carry, the terrorist muslime most likely would not have tried it for fear someone would have shot him dead with the first fire bomb he threw which is how it should have happened. Our government needs to say… Read more »
range time and CONSTITUTIONAL carry win again!