SEATTLE — Court documents say there was no prior interaction between a suspect and the victims of a Belltown shooting that killed a pregnant woman and her child.
The suspect waived his right to appear in court on Wednesday. A judge found probable cause to hold him for first-degree murder, first-degree assault and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office expects to file charges on or before Friday.
Multiple people called 911 around 11 a.m. on Tuesday to report the shooting at Fourth Avenue and Lenora Street. Callers said a suspect had run up to a white car and shot into the driver's side, and that an injured man was lying on the street. Multiple callers were able to provide a description of the suspect to 911 dispatch.
The man and another victim inside the car were rushed to Harborview Medical Center for treatment. The other victim, identified as 34-year-old Eina Kwon, was eight months pregnant. Kwon was rushed into surgery and her baby was emergently delivered. Kwon died from her injuries, which included gunshot wounds to the chest and head. Her baby lived for a short time but also died.
"She was just an incredible human being, selfless, works every day," said business owner Michael Hoyle.
"We used to tease her about the fact that ya know it was time for her to – I mean how could she deliver plates with her belly stickin' out right," said friend, and frequent customer of Kwon's sushi restaurant Aburiya Bento House, Kim Ramirez.
The other victim was treated for their injuries and later released.
Officers were able to locate a person matching the suspect's description not long after the incident. As officers approached, the suspect "raised his hands up in the surrender gesture and repeated, 'I did it, I did it,'" according to court documents.
Officers were searching the path the suspect took to flee from the shooting when they found a semi-automatic handgun on the 300 block of Lenora Street. The gun had been reported stolen to the Lakewood Police Department.
Witnesses of the shooting were able to positively identify the suspect as the person who shot into the car, according to court documents.
At Seattle police headquarters, the suspect told investigators that he saw a gun in the car so he reacted by firing his weapon, but surveillance video taken from the intersection contradicted the suspect's statement.
A camera pointed at the Fourth Ave and Lenora intersection showed the suspect quickly running up to the driver's side door of the victims' car with his arm extended outward. As the suspect was running up to the vehicle, smoke could be seen either coming from the suspect's handgun or from the glass window being shattered. Video shows the suspect then turning and running away from the vehicle westbound along Lenora Street.
Additional surveillance video recovered from the scene showed the suspect and the victims did not interact before the shooting.
Extended interview with friend of victims: