SEATTLE — RENTON, WA. – Police made an arrest in a disturbing act of domestic violence after a man shot and killed the woman he was dating, as well as her young daughter and a family friend who was visiting.
The triple murder happened inside one of the units at the Hillcrest Terrace Apartments in the 1400 block of Hillcrest Lane NE in Renton around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The suspect, whose name has not yet been released by investigators, was captured around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday in Seattle.
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Investigators worked around the clock gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses and family members to help lead them to the killer. Neighbors said the whole ordeal was traumatic.
“Last night, I see they shoot three times. Boom boom boom,” said Ven Nguyen, who was checking on his elderly parents in the unit next door.
The victims include a 46-year-old woman, her 9-year-old daughter, and a 28-year-old woman who was at the apartment complex to visit. Investigators call it a case of domestic violence since the suspect was dating the mother.
“We do not know at this time what was said, what kind of an argument occurred, what happened to prompt such a horrific event,” said Meeghan Black, a spokesperson for the Renton Police Department.
Two other women were also in the mother’s apartment when the shooting began, and both barely managed to escape and get help.
“They saw the gunfire go off and they just bolted out of the apartment,” Black said.
Using information from those two women who were able to get away, investigators identified the gunman and then used his electronic devices to locate him in south Seattle.
“He was exiting a vehicle at the time. They came up on him. He was at first surprised a little bit, and then he just gave up,” Black said.
The suspect was being held at Renton police headquarters on Sunday afternoon, but was in the process of being transferred to a jail cell. The gun used in the triple homicide is still being sought.
