Deputies are investigating a fatal overnight shooting near the Costco warehouse in Shoreline.
At 1:35 a.m., the King County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center received calls about gunshot sounds near Whitman Avenue North and North 202nd Street.
“I heard the last three gunshots. My wife’s a light sleeper. She heard all of them. It was like eight or nine of them,” said Jim Finkle, who lives in the neighborhood.
KCSO deputies arrived to find a victim lying in the street. Deputies and medics were unable to save the person’s life, and they were pronounced dead at the scene.
This marks only the second reported homicide in Shoreline this year, according to investigators.
“It’s rare to have a murder happen a block away. That’s not something you ever want to see or hear or wake up to,” said John Schwartz, who added that the neighborhood is typically quiet and trouble-free. “It’s a little insulated which is why we’ve always felt safe here but it is just a block away from Aurora where a lot more stuff happens.”
Video from the scene shows what appears to be a bullet hole in the side of a truck.
“The truck that everything was happening around, I’d only noticed it for the past couple of days,” Finkle said.
Officers from the Edmonds Police Department secured the shooting scene. Detectives from the KCSO Major Crimes Unit are conducting the investigation.
While circumstances leading to the deadly shooting remain unclear, it occurred near a stairwell connecting Whitman to Aurora Avenue. Neighbors said they frequently see people loitering on those steps and some have witnessed drug deals.
No arrests have been made but investigators referred to this as a “contained incident with no danger to the public.”
The victim’s identity and cause and manner of death will be released by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The 1:35 a.m. timing places the shooting in the early morning hours when most residents sleep, with the eight to nine gunshots loud enough to wake neighbors and prompt multiple 911 calls reporting the incident.
Jim Finkle’s wife hearing all the shots while he heard only the final three suggests the gunfire occurred over an extended period or in multiple bursts, potentially indicating a prolonged confrontation rather than a quick execution-style killing.
The victim found lying in the street indicates the shooting occurred in a public roadway rather than inside a residence or vehicle, creating a crime scene visible to residents and requiring extensive street closure for evidence collection.
The unsuccessful life-saving efforts by deputies and medics suggest the victim sustained fatal injuries from gunshot wounds to vital organs or suffered massive blood loss that rendered medical intervention futile despite prompt emergency response.
The designation as Shoreline’s second homicide this year reflects the city’s relatively low violent crime rate compared to Seattle proper, with murders remaining rare events that shock communities accustomed to property crimes rather than lethal violence.
John Schwartz’s characterization of the neighborhood as “insulated” and “safe” describes typical suburban Shoreline residential areas where single-family homes and quiet streets create environments where residents don’t expect gunfire and homicides.
The proximity “just a block away from Aurora” acknowledges Aurora Avenue’s reputation as a higher-crime corridor running through multiple North King County cities where prostitution, drug dealing, and property crimes concentrate along the commercial strip.
The bullet hole in the truck suggests the shooting involved multiple shots fired in different directions, with stray rounds striking vehicles and potentially endangering residents inside nearby homes if bullets penetrated walls.
Finkle’s observation that he “only noticed” the truck “for the past couple of days” raises questions about whether the vehicle belonged to the victim, suspects, or uninvolved parties, and whether its recent appearance connects to the circumstances leading to the shooting.
The Edmonds Police Department’s scene security role while KCSO Major Crimes conducts the investigation reflects mutual aid agreements where neighboring jurisdictions assist with perimeter control and traffic management while specialized detective units handle homicide investigations.
The stairwell connecting Whitman to Aurora Avenue creates a pedestrian pathway used legitimately by residents but also attracting transients and drug users seeking secluded locations away from main thoroughfares where police patrols concentrate.
The neighbor reports of frequent loitering and witnessed drug deals on the stairwell establish a pattern of criminal activity in the immediate vicinity that may have contributed to confrontations leading to the shooting.
The “contained incident with no danger to the public” characterization suggests investigators believe the shooting resulted from specific conflict between individuals rather than random violence, indicating the victim knew the shooter or the attack stemmed from drug deals, personal disputes, or other targeted motives.
The King County Medical Examiner’s delayed identity release pending notification of next of kin and autopsy completion means the victim’s name may not become public for days, though cause of death determination as gunshot wounds likely occurs quickly during preliminary examination.
The Costco warehouse proximity provides geographic reference point for a shooting that technically occurred in a residential neighborhood, with the major retail landmark helping readers locate the incident even though the store itself had no connection to the violence.
The Major Crimes Unit investigation will likely include canvassing for surveillance video from nearby homes and businesses, collecting shell casings and bullet fragments for ballistic analysis, and interviewing witnesses who heard or saw suspicious activity before the gunfire.
The overnight timing means fewer potential witnesses were outside or looking out windows compared to daytime shootings, potentially limiting eyewitness accounts to auditory evidence of gunshots rather than visual identification of suspects or vehicles fleeing the scene.
Shoreline’s contract with King County Sheriff’s Office for police services means KCSO deputies respond to all law enforcement calls in the city, with specialized units like Major Crimes handling serious incidents affecting multiple contract cities throughout unincorporated King County.
The shooting location near North 202nd Street places the incident in northern Shoreline close to the Edmonds border, explaining Edmonds Police Department’s assistance with scene security in an area where jurisdictional boundaries create natural mutual aid partnerships.
