Yakima Police Chief Matt Murray described the crime as a triple homicide. A suspect was found shot in Yakima.
Yakima Police Chief Matt Murray said the triple homicide happened around 3:30 a.m. at a Circle K market.
He said there was no clear conflict between the parties. “The male just walked in and started shooting.”
Late Tuesday afternoon, Murray announced. That a suspect in the shooting near a Target store had been located.
Someone called 911 at 2:16 p.m. to report a shooting suspect was possibly in the area of the retailer, Murray said. Responding officers heard gunshots and found a wounded man, he said.
“The suspect apparently shot himself and that was before officers arrived,” Murray said.
Police before identified the suspect as Jarid Haddock, 21, of Yakima County. Although Murray said a positive identification will take some time, he added.
Murray said the suspect, who was undisguised, first tried to enter a convenience. The gunman shot someone outside the convenience store, Murray said.
The gunman then drove across the street to go back to the first gas station. And shot his own car many times to get inside because he appeared to have locked his keys in it, he said.
Police initially believed the shooting may have involved a fourth victim. But later determined no one was injured when the man opened fire to gain access to the vehicle, Murray said.
The suspect was last seen driving a gray or silver Chrysler 200. Eastbound on State Route 24 toward Moxie, Murray said.
“This is a dangerous person. And it’s random, so there’s a danger to the community,” Murray said. “We have no motive. We don’t know why.”
He admitted Monday afternoon that the suspect was at large most of the day.
“He was out in the community,” Murray said at a news conference at police headquarters. “The threat never really went away.” He credited a woman near the target. Whose phone the suspect borrowed to call his mother, for helping police find him. He relayed the information to authorities. Murray said, adding that the man appeared to admit to the assault during the call.
The woman also said she threatened to kill herself, Murray said.
Investigators were looking at security video to determine what happened.
“We have video from security at the store, and we’re collecting other videos,” Murray said. “There were also witnesses who gave us information.”
So far believe the killings inside and outside the convenience store were random.
“Literally as soon as he opened the door he started shooting at people,” Murray said. “He went outside, saw someone else in a car and shot them.”
The country has been plagued by gun violence. On Saturday night, a gunman shot and killed 11 people. And wounded at least nine others in Monterey Park, California.
Ten hours later, at least 12 people were injured after a shooting. At a Louisiana nightclub, according to authorities. Who called it a “targeted attack.”
In a shooting in Northern California on Monday in Half Moon Bay. A coastal town of about 11,000 about 30 miles south of San Francisco.
And a gunman killed one person and wounded seven in Oakland, California, on Monday evening.
There have been at least 39 mass shootings in the United States. In the first 24 days of 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive. A nonprofit group that defines a mass shooting as a single incident in which at least four people.
