Man arrested for role in deadly gas station shooting in Highland Park neighborhood

HIGHLAND PARK, Wash. — A man was arrested and booked after turning himself in for his role in a deadly shooting that happened at a local gas station in Seattle’s Highland Park neighborhood in early October.

According to a Monday incident report from the Seattle Police Department, officers arrested a 26-year-old believed to be involved in a murder that happened on Oct. 13 at Shree’s Truck Shop, a gas station located on Detroit Avenue Southwest. The man turned himself in on Oct. 25 at the police department’s headquarters in downtown Seattle.

That Sunday night, officers with the police department responded to a shooting at the gas station. When they arrived, they found a man shot to death, police said.

According to the probable cause statement from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, during a preliminary investigation, police found gas state surveillance video that caught part of the gas pumps from the front of the store. At about 7:40 p.m., a blue Hyundai Elantra drove to pump four and parked, pointing north. There were three men and two women spotted inside the Elantra, police said. Then, a black Chevy Trailblazer SS drove onto the lot from the opposite side of the station and parked at pump two. Police said the Elantra and Chevy were facing directly nose-to-nose on the lot.

One man, later identified as the shooter, got out of the Chevy, walked directly to the Elantra driver’s side and talked to the driver, according to the probable cause statement. The driver then got out of the Elantra and talked with the shooter and other men in what appeared to be a casual conversation.

About four minutes later, the shooter walked away from the group, went into Shree’s and bought an item from the automotive section. The shooter then walked back outside to pump two, when a man from the Elantra sucker punched the shooter in the back of the head. Surveillance video caught a portion of what appeared to be the man repeatedly punching the shooter.

Just before 8 p.m., the shooter got back into his Chevy and drove off of the lot, when the driver and others also got back into the Elantra and passed him. That’s when the video caught the driver of the Elantra ducking down to avoid gunshots from the Chevy.

That’s when the video caught a woman, later identified as the victim’s girlfriend, walking out of the gas station and being startled by the gunshots. When she walked to her boyfriend’s car, she saw him bleeding from a gunshot wound. He was later identified as Otan Garcia-Ruiz.

A witness called 911 and officers with the Seattle Police Department responded. Officers provided Garcia-Ruiz with first-aid until paramedics arrived, but he died from his injuries.

Preliminary information found that Garcia-Ruiz was sitting in his car, waiting to fill up when the shooter started randomly shooting, police said.

Responding homicide detectives captured photos of the shooter from the gas station and nearby business surveillance video during their investigation. Detectives also spoke to witnesses who provided information regarding the incident.

Following the investigation, police said that the shooter allegedly fired into a crowded gas station with “disregard to any of the patrons.”

The shooter turned himself in after seeing news coverage on TV. When he arrived at the department’s headquarters, he showed police where he was sucker-punched and injured before the shooting.

He was booked into King County Jail for the murder investigation. He appeared in court for his first appearance on Saturday.

King County prosecutors have not officially filed charges as of Monday afternoon.

The suspect remains in jail on a $2 million bond.

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