Updated 11:38 p.m. An employee of the Wedgwood QFC was shot and seriously injured Monday night by police who had come to the store to arrest him in connection with a domestic violence incident one night earlier.
At about 8:20 p.m., officers confronted the man and a fight ensued, said Seattle Police spokesman Mark Jamieson. After the man reached into his waistband to attempt to draw a gun, one of the officers shot him once, Jamieson said.
The man, in his 30s, was believed to still be alive late Monday but Jamieson said he had no pulse when medics arrived shortly after the shooting. Medics quickly began CPR and the man was rushed to Harborview Medical Center. Fire Department officials said the man has suffered a gunshot wound to the back.
“He was on the floor, his head was down … he didn’t look like he was in good shape,” said Harker Hearne, who was in the store shopping when the shooting occurred. Hearne said he did not hear anything and wasn’t aware that a shooting had occurred until backup police frantically arrived.
No other injuries were reported. While Jamieson could only confirm that one shot had been fired, a young woman — the sister of a QFC employee — said her brother told her that one shot was fired into a wall near the Northeast corner of the store by the meat department and bathroom.
“My brother was in a back room, stocking things, and said a bullet whizzed past his head about 5 feet away,” said Sasha Shay, a Wedgwood resident.
Her brother finally emerged from the store at 11:10 p.m., gave his sister a long embrace and then left with another employee. Both he and the other employee declined comment, saying police had instructed them to not talk to the media. Earlier, three other employees had left also saying they weren’t allowed to talk.
It turns out that police had been to the store on Sunday night looking for the man but he was not there, said Jamieson. Police returned, Jamieson said, because a QFC employee called tonight to let them know that the man had come to work.
Jamieson said the domestic violence incident, which occurred in North Seattle, was a felony case and police had probable cause to arrest the man. He had no other information about the man or the domestic violence incident.
Jamieson said police likely would have a briefing downtown Tuesday morning to provide more details about the shooting, including background on the officer.
(Thanks Silver for the tip!)
Update: Man shot by police has died
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64 reader comments so far ↓
1 Souper // Aug 16, 2010 at 11:13 pm
Clean up on aisle 3….
2 B // Aug 16, 2010 at 11:28 pm
Not very funny, Souper. Nor original.
3 Jack // Aug 16, 2010 at 11:35 pm
Hush up, B. At least Souper spelled “aisle” correctly. I chuckled.
Looks like the perp got popped because he pulled a pistol. Putz.
To those itching to share their proximity to this QFC: don’t. We realize houses exist near crimes.
4 mmbb // Aug 16, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Jack, I live on Isle 4, so it was a close one for me.
And, yeah, yeah, we know that this never would have happened at the Red Apple…
(comments will be deleted shortly, I’m sure.)
5 Hawks74 // Aug 17, 2010 at 12:25 am
I agree. That was pretty funny Souper. Guy shouldn’t have pulled a gun on a cop.
6 M // Aug 17, 2010 at 1:40 am
Do you think it’s odd that the cops tell everyone who saw anything that they had better keep their mouths shut?
7 j'ist // Aug 17, 2010 at 2:05 am
Hey, why’d the byline for this story change from Kate Bergman to Wayne Wurzer?
M, yes, it does seem odd, and I have to wonder why these witnesses have been instructed to remain silent when the mainstream TV media seems chock-a-block with victims and witnesses talking to reporters.
8 L.C Dub // Aug 17, 2010 at 3:52 am
THIS IS LIKE 4 STREETS FROM MY HOUSE THIS SHIT NEVER HAPPENS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD WTF
9 Angus // Aug 17, 2010 at 6:25 am
Curious. I do belive that it said he was shot in the back. Hmmmm Maybe thats why SPD told folks to keep their mouths shut.
10 Torval // Aug 17, 2010 at 7:52 am
Hey Jack,
Armchair mod somewhere else, you little prick.
While you’re at it, move out of my neighborhood.
11 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 8:17 am
It’s a pretty simple rule, even I know it: you go for a gun in front of a cop, you get shot. Even if your back is turned to a cop. How quickly do you think an armed person can turn and shoot you? 1/4 of second?
How stupid was this guy?
12 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 9:36 am
“Do you think it’s odd that the cops tell everyone who saw anything that they had better keep their mouths shut?”
Not at all, police often ask witnesses to crimes not to speak to the media while investigations are ongoing. SOP.
13 Ian Carr // Aug 17, 2010 at 9:40 am
Those goons that arrested him KNEW he worked there? They easily could have known when he got off work or what door he would exit work by? Yes he was suspected of a felony and the cops tell us he ‘had’ a gun, but arresting a suspect felong INSIDE a busy store is unfathomable.
14 debz // Aug 17, 2010 at 10:00 am
So, the cops acted decisively to stop someone (someone who had a gun and committed a felony assault) from hurting anyone…in the store that I shop in daily with my toddler.
Personally, instead of criticizing them and Monday morning quarterbacking, I will be sending them a thank you note.
15 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 10:22 am
Thanks Debz, I’ll be sending them a thank you note too.
Ian, would you have preferred it if he’d escaped that evening, gone off and attacked someone else?
Maybe the cops should have given him a hug and offered him some ‘friendly’ advise on how to treat women better?
“but arresting a suspect felong INSIDE a busy store is unfathomable.”
So let me get this straight: violent, gun toting, women beating felons should be left alone if they happen near other people? Doesn’t that negate the cops job to protect the non-criminal classes, i.e. ‘most poeple’?
16 Use Your Brain // Aug 17, 2010 at 10:45 am
Overall picture! If the police want to serve warrants and arrest people. Do it in a manner that does not cause danger to the public or the employees. Is this the Rambo way of protecting the public. The Seattle police could up set up a way to arrest him at home or when he was isolated. Thank Gawd there was not a blood bath or a semi automatic weapon killing many more.
17 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 10:51 am
Yes, we should let the criminals decide when and where to be arrested. Letting the copes make those decisions is just CRAZY!
Can we also make sure someone is at the jail to fluff the pillows?
18 mmbb // Aug 17, 2010 at 11:09 am
So, all officers serving a DV warrant/arrest should assume that the suspect has a gun tucked into his waistband (against QFC policy, may I add).
Yeah, thanks QFC for having a non-enforced “no weapons” policy. Did you see where the Metro 71 driver (and QFC shopper) saw the gun right before the incident happened? Thanks, QFC, for having a policy and sticking to it.
I’ll be walking the extra few blocks down to Safeway. They have staff that I can trust. And they have cameras (read the sign on the front door, and look up. They have good coverage; not that it prevents anything, but…).
19 NE1 // Aug 17, 2010 at 11:17 am
Souper, what could jeopardize “investigations that are ongoing” here, by an employee witness talking? The victim was in custody (and later dead), and the shooter identified… it’s not as if there’s an ongoing manhunt. An initial report from police stated that the officer opened fire when “the man was reaching for something in his pocket” (see the story at seattlecrime.com). Later reports stated he’d pulled a gun from his waistband. Could that discrepancy be what they don’t want discussed? Besides, don’t witnesses have a first-amendment right to speak to the media?
20 Use Your Brian // Aug 17, 2010 at 11:39 am
LEO assumption that serving a DV warrant isn’t going to be met with a hostile response.
To all of you people claiming that there should have been a SWAT/SID response, or that it shold have been timed to when the suspect was getting off work,
how would you feel if you received that response for running a red light or a parking violation? The cops came in with intentions and expectations of a nice, friendly identification and custody process. Most of the time, it happens like that, and it’s invisible to you because there was no need for the use of deadly force. It could happen right under your nose and you wouldn’t notice it at all; they’re that smooth. Sometimes.
I feel for the officer who had to take a life. To you, sir, I thank you and commend you for protecting us and keeping us safe.
21 20feet // Aug 17, 2010 at 11:41 am
Why are we criticizing the other employees who were told to please not talk to the media. I’m pretty sure they were told by their boss, (who likely was told by the cops). If they want to keep their jobs and have drama free working environment they will keep their pie holes shut. It is that simple. You would do the same too, jobs are hard to come by these days, why risk it.
22 ltfd // Aug 17, 2010 at 11:42 am
Here are some radical ideas:
1. Don’t commit a felony.
2. Submit to arrest when confronted by law enforcement officers serving you with a warrant.
3. Don’t resist arrest- you might get injured, or you might injure someone else.
4. Don’t attempt to retrieve a weapon while law enforcement officers are confronting you- you might be killed.
5. If you are going to carry a (permitted) concealed weapon, advise any approaching officer that you have one, don’t move suddenly, and comply with any directions given by the officer.
6. Treat other people nicely, and again, don’t commit felonies.
23 mmbb // Aug 17, 2010 at 11:43 am
QFC doesn’t have a good camera/surveillance system, so we may never know.
24 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 11:54 am
“Why are we criticizing the other employees who were told to please not talk to the media. I’m pretty sure they were told by their boss, ”
You can guarantee there’s an ambulance chasing lawyer talking to this thug’s family right now, getting ready to sue the store, the cops….
25 robotspider // Aug 17, 2010 at 12:07 pm
SPD are a bunch of scumbags who write jay-walking tickets, but have no problem with drug or alcohol use on the street.
That said, telling the witness they can’t talk seems a bit illegal. They weren’t “asked” not to talk–they were “instructed” not talk.
26 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 12:20 pm
“SPD are a bunch of scumbags who write jay-walking tickets, but have no problem with drug or alcohol use on the street.”
Well, next time you’re a victim of crime, do us all a favor, and call a hippie to save your a**.
27 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 12:35 pm
“the man has been booked into the King County Jail at least 15 times since 1985, and has a long criminal record, which includes charges for domestic violence assault, harassment, attempting to elude police, weapons, drugs, and obstruction.”
Sounds like the police got the right guy.
28 mmbb // Aug 17, 2010 at 12:43 pm
Sounds like the police got the right guy.
that’s actually for a judge or jury to decide.
29 chicken // Aug 17, 2010 at 12:43 pm
LEO are well within the law to ask people to not talk to the media. They may even explain to you why they don’t want you to talk to anyone right away, and their reasons may (or may not) be good ones.
None of this means you are *required* to keep quiet, or that you would be arrested or charged with anything. It is not illegal to talk to the media after such an event. Those employees could have talked if they wanted to. Perhaps they didn’t want to, at least not at that moment.
30 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 12:44 pm
“that’s actually for a judge or jury to decide.”
Not when you pull a gun on a cop.
31 M // Aug 17, 2010 at 1:02 pm
Luckily the cops missed the kid in the back stocking shelves. He was a few feet from having his brains blown out because of this.
32 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 1:10 pm
“Luckily the cops missed the kid in the back stocking shelves.”
You’re right, it’s lucky the actions of this violent, gun toting, criminal thug didn’t harm anyone else.
Luckily, and thanks to the SPD, he won’t harm anyone again.
33 M // Aug 17, 2010 at 1:41 pm
Souper, thats right, it’s good the guy is off the streets.
But, what would have happened if the kid did have his brains blown out because the police decided to confront him with innocent bystanders inside the store?
You’re “anything they did is the correct thing” argument is bullheaded.
34 chicken // Aug 17, 2010 at 1:50 pm
And what would have happened if the police did nothing, and this armed felon killed fellow employees and customers at the store?
35 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 1:50 pm
“, what would have happened if the kid did have his brains blown out because the police decided to confront him with innocent bystanders inside the store?”
So we should let the criminals decide when and where they can be picked up? the only person to blame here is the criminal, not the cops. He’s the one who put everyone in danger by pulling a gun on the cops. You cannot live in a safe society if we let the criminals determine how the police should deal with them.
What if the cops let him leave work and go home. What if when he got home he finished off his mother (he was wanted for strangling the woman)….then what would you complain about?
I’ll trust the cops, not the hug-a-thug crowd.
36 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 1:55 pm
“what would have happened if the police did nothing, and this armed felon killed fellow employees and customers at the store?”
Then M would complain that the cops never do anything to help people.
Some people just love to whine, they love the sounds of their own voices. But have some lunatic stick a gun in their face and it’s “911, help!”
37 M // Aug 17, 2010 at 2:09 pm
I didn’t say they should do nothing, it doesn’t always mean they did the *right* or *best* thing.
Clearly you’re a troll, and that is fine, have fun with it.
38 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Well, I’ll trust the SPD’s judgement over yours any day….
39 M // Aug 17, 2010 at 3:02 pm
That is great because if it were up to me, I would have called ahead and asked the manager to quietly ask the other employees to leave the store, through the back or whatever before I came in to start a shoot out with some waste of life with a gun.
40 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 3:35 pm
” if it were up to me, I would have called ahead ”
Which is why you’re not a cop.
41 TC the Great // Aug 17, 2010 at 3:37 pm
Is Kroger (QFC/Fred Meyer) that desperate for meat handlers to hire a guy with a long criminal record? the answer is YES! lol
The bottom line is SPD should not have gone into to the store it endangers the public duh, go confront him at his home fools!
42 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 3:43 pm
“asked the manager to quietly ask the other employees to leave the store,”
Great plan! Leave the thug and his gun in store wondering, “where’s everyone gone?”
I mean, what could have gone wrong with that plan?
I prefer your first idea, let him go home, finish throttling his mom, then knock on his door and ask him if he has a soft pillow to bring with him down to King County Jail.
43 M // Aug 17, 2010 at 4:03 pm
TC the Great + 1
Some of these SPD guys aren’t the brightest. I appreciate what they do, but they should get better training on how to deal with dangerous individuals while protecting innocent bystanders.
44 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Care to site some examples where they have failed to protect innocent bystanders out of the tens of thousands of arrests they make? I mean, an accusation without facts is like a f*rt, anyone can produce one.
I do remember the SPD sitting around while Kristopher Kime was getting brutally murdered. Of course, that was a case where the cops let the thugs run loose, instead of protecting us from thugs.
45 King Mo // Aug 17, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Hey, sounds like Souper must have a boyfroend on the SPD
46 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Yes, anyone who respects the police and the difficult and dangerous job they do to kep the rest of us safe, must be in bed with the police.
What are you, 17?
47 King Mo // Aug 17, 2010 at 5:36 pm
The cops will try to justify the killing in any way they can. This fellow could have been taken into custody, in many other different ways, than killing him with a shot to the back, in a local Supermarket that was still open. By opening up gunfire in the store, many lives were at risk,bottom line. And , yes, I mispelled boyfriend, on my earlier post. Maybe Souper would have a different take on the subject if a bullet had wizzed by his head last night, while he was peacifully minding his own business at the local Grocery store?
48 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 6:14 pm
“The cops will try to justify the killing in any way they can. ”
You mean like when people with long criminal records, including guns charges, assault and domestic violence, pull a gun on the police? In that case, they don’t need to justify anything. This sounds like a perfectly legal use of deadly force by the police.
“than killing him with a shot to the back”
He wasn’t shot in the back. Read today’s reports. Hospital and police confirmed he was shot in the abdomen, in front.
“many lives were at risk”
You’re right. Which is why the police had to shoot him before he threatened the lives of shoppers, police and employees, as well as his ex-wife and mother, both of whom he tried to kill.
But maybe you’d be happier with the thugs in charge? I’m sure there’s neighborhoods more to your liking for that than Wedgwood.
49 King Mo // Aug 17, 2010 at 6:35 pm
I know I was right!
Cops can be corrupt and lie to protect themeselves from prosecution.
This fellow could have been taken down by non-lethal means, plain clothes officers, whatever they knew where he was.
The lives put at risk by this episode, is unappectable, that stray bullet could have gone anywhere in the store. If this is the kinf of SPD we are going to see, under the New Chief Diaz, flying bullets in grocery stores, I may think about getting my groceries online.
Souper, my man, to bad you didn’t live in 1940 Germany, you would have been a Good Nazi. It seems as you are almost happy this disturbed and mentally ill fellow is dead. I hope your life is not as miserable as you seem to be?
50 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 7:03 pm
“This fellow could have been taken down by non-lethal means, plain clothes officers, whatever they knew where he was.”
Did you read the report? they fought with him, 2 cops for 2-3 minutes and he refused to submit.
“to bad you didn’t live in 1940 Germany”
Well the second you call someone a Nazi you pretty much loose the debate.
You almost seem sad a wife beater wasn’t let go.
51 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 7:04 pm
…lose the debate.
52 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 7:17 pm
““This fellow could have been taken down by non-lethal mean”
Well read on genius:
“After meeting with QFC managers at the front of the store, two officers headed to the back to confront Rosenfeld, Jamieson said. Quickly a fight ensued, “bouncing from room to room” in the back stock-room area beyond the meat department and beyond the public bathrooms. Jamieson said a third officer soon joined the fight, which went on for between two and six minutes.
Toward the end of the struggle, officers saw Rosenfeld reach for a gun in his waistband, Jamieson said. They commanded him to stop and when he did not, the officer who was in closest proximity to him, shot him from close range, Jamieson said.”
BTW if I’m a Nazi, the cops are Brown Shirts, Diaz is Himmler, does that make Mayor McGinn Hitler?
53 CarD // Aug 17, 2010 at 7:17 pm
Souper is the biggest apologist to authority I’ve ever seen. He KNOWS FOR A FACT that the guy pulled a gun and is evil and the cops did everything right…because cops NEVER lie or do things wrong!
He wasn’t there and doesn’t know anything we don’t know…but he KNOWS the cops were right.
Look, the cops could have been right in this case…and it looks like they were but stop backing up the cops no matter what – it was stupid to confront a violent felon in a crowded store. Why not wait for him to take a break or leave the store?
I know, I know…how dare I critique the Gods. I should be shot as well, right, Souper?
54 layla // Aug 17, 2010 at 7:18 pm
way to go QFC … Matthews didn’t hire felons
55 layla // Aug 17, 2010 at 7:21 pm
I agree with this – it was stupid to confront a violent felon in a crowded store
56 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 7:37 pm
” it was stupid to confront a violent felon in a crowded store”
They didn’t. Read the report. they confronted him when he was in back, alone. Do you folks ever blame criminals or is it always the cops fault?
But keep the tin foil on tight boys, we live in Nazi Germany, Chief Diaz is Himmler, the cops are all fascists and Mayor McGinn is Hitler on 2 wheels.
57 SuzyQ // Aug 17, 2010 at 8:11 pm
Do you people read the story, or just pop off first? SPD got a call saying there was someone they were looking for in the store. They looked for him there the night before and he wasn’t there. Probably because he was trying to avoid being arrested. I bet he didn’t go home that night either folks. You arrest them where they are. And why would you blame the police when the guy was stupid enough to pull a gun on them?
58 LELLEN // Aug 17, 2010 at 8:51 pm
As this is my neighborhood grocery store and I know the layout of the store I concur that confrontation inside this store was a dangerous prospect from the get go. There was an employee in the back that was not taken out of harms way when they made the move to arrest him in the back. This is a SMALL store with limited space to get around with a grocery cart let alone when guns are being fired. If the police knew this man had a long history of violence then it stands to reason that one would take precautions when arresting him and not do it in a confined space like this QFC offers.
59 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 8:55 pm
Unconfined space? What, they should have waited til his was in a field and sitting comfortably? Or just let him go and hope he didn’t finish off his ex-wife or mother.
Maybe if you’re a victim of violent domestic abuse you’ll hope the cops get your beater quickly and not wait til he’s in an unconfined space, like your home.
60 Souper // Aug 17, 2010 at 8:57 pm
Nothing like watching a bunch of cop-hating Seattleites defending a wife beater.
61 SuzyQ // Aug 17, 2010 at 9:23 pm
If the police had waited for him to come out, say to the parking lot before arresting him, would that have made you feel better? What if there were people in the parking lot? Or what if there had been an incident in the store where this guy had hurt someone in the meantime? Tell me you wouldn’t be saying exactly the opposite of what you are saying now. You would be horrified that the police received a call, knew a wanted violent felon with a record was in the store, but decided to wait until he got off work to arrest him, because they were worried about shoppers. Maybe they should just follow him around the city until they find a time when he is nowhere near people? Do you really think that should be police policy? Do you think very many people would be arrested in this city if we waited for them to not be near anyone? I guess if I commit a crime I will be sure to stay in crowded places.
62 Poot // Aug 17, 2010 at 10:39 pm
Thank god no one was hurt…. except the dead guy…and everyone that got to watch him get shot… oh, yeah and the cop that shot him.
63 wtfnow // Aug 18, 2010 at 12:04 am
All of this second-guessing and what-ifing is just silly. It’s pretty simple: Police come to arrest a felon; felon resists violently; felon pulls a gun; felon gets shot.
No, they don’t have to wait until there is nobody else around to arrest him – get him when you can, where you can.
No, they don’t have to wait until he starts shooting to defend themselves – people who do that are frequently referred to as “the deceased”.
No, the store would not likely knowingly let a person illegally carry a gun at work (felony conviction == no guns). There could be any number of reasons.
No, the cops are not automatically up to something just because someone may have asked people not to talk about the incident right away. Neither is the store.
Yes, sometimes under extreme stress it is difficult to hit your target. And stray bullets are just as lethal as ones that hit their mark. This is why we like to train our police officers regularly. It’s a difficult job. Don’t pretend you could have done better. “How I would have done it” would have gotten half of you armchair quarterbacks killed, and plenty of you would have lost the suspect or gotten someone else hurt or killed. No, I’m not a cop and no, I couldn’t have done better either. Somehow I know that, though. We used to call this common sense. Apparently I’m suddenly some kind of frikin’ genius.
64 debz // Aug 18, 2010 at 10:23 pm
WTFnow,
that was awesome. Thanks.