BTHELL, Washington -- One police officer was killed and another was injured in a shooting in downtown Bothell on Monday night, after a traffic stop turned into a brief car chase, police said.
The chase began when Bothell officers responded to a traffic stop on Bothell Way Northeast around 9:40 p.m., said Everett police spokesperson Aaron Snell, who answered questions with Bothell police Capt. Mike Johnson at a news conference early Tuesday. The driver led police on a short car chase before he got out and started running, Snell said.
Assisting police arrived to find the two Bothell officers injured. One was taken to Harborview Medical Center. Snell declined to say if the officer who died was also taken to the hospital or died at the scene.
The injured officer was in satisfactory condition, the hospital confirmed. No further information about either officer was immediately available.
Bothell police tweeted around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday that a suspect had been taken into custody after hiding on a rooftop. They had earlier said the male suspect was at large, and asked anyone with information to call 911. During the search, Johnson urged the public to “stay home, lock your doors, and if you see something, say something.”
The reason for the traffic stop was unclear.
Snell said the department heard reports that the suspect had been involved in a hit-and-run after police tried to stop him, but added that they were still trying to determine whether that happened.
“This is uncharted territory for us,” Johnson said. “This is going to be a rough couple of days for our
organization.”
The investigation will be turned over to the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team (SMART), Johnson said.
Bothell Councilmember Mason Thompson said in a tweet that he was “heartbroken about what’s happening in Bothell tonight.”
“Please pray for Bothell,” state representative and Councilmember Davina Duerr tweeted.
After the shooting, many streets in downtown Bothell were blocked off. By 6 a.m. Tuesday, a few still were: Northeast Bothell Way, or Highway 522, remained closed between Northeast 180th Street and Kaysner Way. Bothell Way Northeast, or Highway 527, remained closed between Main Street and Northeast Bothell Way.
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