Attempted catalytic converter theft leads to shooting in Newcastle

Neighbors in an upscale Newcastle community were stunned Sunday after an attempted catalytic converter theft led to a double shooting.

Deputies said three men drove through the Avalon Bay Apartment complex looking to steal catalytic converters.

That suspicious activity was noticed by a neighbor, and when he questioned the suspects, deputies said he was then shot.

“It was loud and there were a lot of gunshots, and then you could hear a car speeding away really loud,” neighbor Chris Sheehan said.

Sheehan was among the first people to help the victim.

“This is a nice area. You walk around, you don’t think anything like this will happen and it does,” he said.

Following that first shooting came a twist. That’s because the man who was shot was carrying a gun himself.

After being shot in the leg, deputies said he returned fire, hitting one of the suspects.

“Lock them up, have them in jail,” Sheehan said. “You know, they commit the crime, they get arrested, they get out hours later, days later.”

The victim who was shot in the leg was taken to a nearby hospital and is expected to be OK.

Later in the morning, deputies said a man suffering from a gunshot wound turned up at a nearby hospital. Investigators are trying to figure out if that man was one of the suspects in this case.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the King County Sheriff’s Office.

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