‘My heart sunk’: Lynnwood neighborhood hit with two drive-by shootings in four days

Several Lynnwood residents said they’re living on edge after their neighborhood got hit with two drive-by shootings in a span of four days.

INVESTIGATION:

A spokesperson for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said deputies arrived at a townhouse complex on Admiralty Way in Lynnwood Friday at about 9:15 a.m.

A resident noticed a bullet in his drywall when he woke up that morning.

A bullet pierced a resident’s back window, facing Admiralty Way.

Deputies said they were not able to remove the bullet from the drywall but searched the area for evidence.

The 911 dispatch center did not receive any calls that early morning of shots being fired, officials said.

Then on Monday, another drive-by shooting happened at the same complex.

This time, the shooting happened in broad daylight several homes down from Friday’s incident.

The home was struck with three bullets, officials said.

Two people were inside the home during the incident, but they were not injured, officials said.

Deputies were also unable to collect the bullets, officials said, since they were stuck in the drywall.

Investigators were able to collect surveillance footage from a nearby building but did not find a suspect vehicle.

A witness saw a vehicle leaving the area shortly after shots were fired.

VICTIMS:

KIRO 7 News spoke with Alex and Devin, whose townhouse was shot up Friday early morning.

They have been living in the neighborhood for more than two years.

“I immediately felt violated,” said Alex. “It was pretty scary. Definitely not a good feeling.”

Alex said he discovered the shattered glass on his living room floor when he woke up Friday morning.

A bullet pierced his living room window and left a hole in his wall near the kitchen.

Both said a deputy told them the suspect possibly used a rifle to shoot their home.

“When they said that, my heart sunk. It’s very scary,” said Alex.

Alex and his husband, Devin, said they spend most of their time in the living room, including late at night.

They said the bullet could’ve killed both of them.

“We would’ve been waking up off the couch at the time that bullet came through. We would’ve been at risk of getting hit at a very deadly spot,” Alex said.

“Where I sit in the couch, it’s in front of the window as well, depending on where the bullet came in, it could’ve been where I’ve been sitting,” said Devin.

Devin said he and his husband called 911 three times and deputies arrived an hour later.

They said they have not received a call since Friday’s incident.

“It really just comes down to it seems like somebody actually has to get hurt for there to be a priority to be associated with this type of thing,” said Devin.

“It made us feel really not safe. It’s not a good feeling. Your home is supposed to be your safe place. Right now, I don’t think most of the people in the community are feeling that way,” said Alex. “They never collected the bullet from our wall, so they don’t have a way of knowing if our unit and that unit was the same person or the same gun that was being shot.”

“This is a bullet that went through our unit. This is affecting not just us, but it’s affecting the safety of everybody,” said Alex.

KIRO 7 News reached out to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office about their concerns.

Officials did not directly respond to them, and only shared details about their investigation.

Devin told KIRO 7 News that he and his husband have considered moving to keep themselves safe.

“The next day we were talking about, ‘Should we move? Should we try to find somewhere else to live? But unfortunately, the prices of homes, it’s not a feasible option in the current moment. It doesn’t make us feel safe in the place that we’re supposed to feel most safe,” he shared.

KIRO 7 News stopped by the home shot up in Monday’s shooting to speak with the residents.

No one answered the door.

PARENTS:

However, nearby parents told us they heard the gunshots.

“It was three quick popping sounds,” said Drew Egan, a father. “It just freaks you out because one time, it’s like maybe it’s a random thing that happened, but happening a couple days later on the same road right next to the same units? You wonder what’s going on and why this is happening.”

“I get nervous. My kids aren’t old enough to be out and about playing, but there are a bunch of kids in the neighborhood that are, and it makes you nervous for those kids and the future, if my kid is out and about and a stray bullet comes by,” he added.

Chaitanya Babana, a nearby father, said, “It’s really concerning because my kids and my family, most of the time, we spend our time on the other side of the house where the shooting has happened.”

Babana said his family is readjusting their home, so their children do not sleep near the backside of their townhouse to keep them safe.

“We are concerned about these shootings. It’s not one time, it’s the second time happening, and we’re concerned it might happen again. It’s been growing like this,” he added.