AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. — The man accused of shooting his wife and her daughter in Airway Heights and going on the run to Western Washington is facing new charges, according to newly filed court documents.
Zion Carter, 38, was originally charged with two counts of attempted murder. On Monday, charges of first-degree robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm and interfering with the reporting of domestic violence were filed against him. Carter remains in the Spokane County Jail on $1.5 million.
Carter turned himself in to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office two days after the shooting and was later extradited to Spokane.
Court documents are giving more insight into what led up to the shooting and Carter’s alleged movements following the incident.
Carter’s wife told police she was arguing with him the night of the shooting because he claimed she was “out to get him,” documents say. She said the argument ended in Carter telling her he needed to leave the house and rest before work. She said she laid down to go to sleep and woke up to Carter standing on the other side of the bed holding a gun, according to court documents. She said she screamed and ran toward the bathroom. She said Carter followed her and pointed a gun at her, firing at her multiple times, documents say.
While Carter was firing the gun, documents say he was repeating something to the effect of, “Why did you bring me here?” His wife said she tried to barricade herself in the bathroom and Carter tried to force his way in as she was losing consciousness.
The next thing she remembered was regaining consciousness and realizing she was bleeding profusely. She said she searched for her phone, then called 911 and her father. Court documents say she told her father to say goodbye to her sons for her because she thought she was going to die. She said she collapsed on her bed and soon after she saw her daughter come into the room bleeding. The next thing she remembered was law enforcement coming into her room to help her.
In an interview with police, Carter’s wife’s 11-year-old daughter told police she was sitting on the couch when she heard her mother arguing with her husband upstairs. As she was sitting on the couch, documents say Carter ripped her phone out of her hand and went back upstairs. The girl followed Carter upstairs and saw him holding a gun, to which she yelled, "What are you doing?!"
The girl told police she ran downstairs. As she ran she said she heard gunshots. She said she tried to hide in the bathroom and Carter forced the door open, according to documents.
“The defendant looked her in the eyes, pointed a pistol at her and smiled ‘like someone does when they are about to win a video game,’” documents say.
The girl said she threw her arms up and screamed, then heard gunshots, documents say. The girl told police she pretended to be dead, hoping Carter would not shoot again, according to court documents. She eventually ran out the back door of the home and realized she was bleeding from her torso. She said she was moving between houses to find help when she saw Carter leave the home in a silver Nissan Rogue.
She told police she was so scared Carter would hunt her down after she left that she tried to “hold the blood in her” so she didn’t leave a trail he could follow, according to court documents.
While police were still trying to find Carter, a concerned citizen came forward saying they had been with Carter the night of the shooting. Carter told them his car broke down in Browne’s Addition and he offered them money for a ride, according to court documents. Carter tried to convince this person to drive him to Tacoma and asked them to give him a ride to an ATM, court documents say. Carter refused to actually use the ATM and eventually the person dropped Carter off at West 9th Avenue and South Walnut Street. The concerned person said Carter did not seem upset or concerned and tried to convince them to get a hotel room with him so they could have sex, documents say.
In an interview with police, Carter said he threw the gun used in the shooting over the Monroe Street Bridge and into the Spokane River. He also said he threw his cell phone into a storm drain, according to documents. Carter said he later met with a random person and paid them to drive him to Tacoma, documents say. He said he shaved his head in an effort to change his appearance after seeing press releases with his photos, documents say.
“The defendant said he did such a thorough job that he would have been ‘gone’ and law enforcement would have never found him,” a detective wrote in court documents.
Carter told police he turned himself in because he heard his wife was going to be paralyzed, documents say. His next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 8.