EVERETT, Wash. — An Everett police officer has left the hospital after being shot in the head Wednesday following an attempted robbery.
Officer Chad House was wheeled out of the hospital, where he was met by other officers and employees, who all cheered his release and wished him well, according to a media release from the Everett Police Department.
“We are all so pleased to see Officer House released from the hospital today,” said Everett police chief Dan Templeman. “The excellent first aid administered on scene by his fellow officers yesterday morning, combined with the outstanding care he received by the staff at Providence Medical Center, all played a role in his quick release from the hospital. We look forward to Officer House taking the time he needs to recover from his injuries and look forward to welcoming him back to his crew and community when he’s ready.”
At around 3:10 a.m., Everett Police were called to reports of an armed robbery in the 7600 block of Evergreen Way near a Safeway store. Officers began searching for four suspects who had fled.
Officers found one suspect near the 8600 block of Evergreen Way. As one of the officers approached the area in his patrol SUV, the suspect fired multiple shots at the SUV, striking House in the head, according to O’Keefe. The officer’s vehicle was hit by several rounds.
He was taken to the Colby Campus of Providence Regional Medical Center.
Video from the Fred Meyer gas station on Evergreen Way near Holly Road, where the officer was shot in his police SUV, showed the police SUV with its driver’s side door open and what appeared to be bullet damage in the driver’s side window. Multiple evidence markers were around the police vehicle.
After the shooting, the suspect fled across the street to a used car lot where he was confronted by a second Everett Police officer. During the confrontation, the suspect was shot and killed.
The three other suspects involved in the robbery, and as of Thursday afternoon, they have not been found. O’Keefe said they were not involved in either shooting scene.
No other officers were hurt.
KIRO 7 reporter Ranji Sinha spoke to a bystander in the area on Wednesday.
“It’s sad, very sad. My father wanted to be an officer. And it’s times like this that I’m kind of glad that he wasn’t. Because their job is hard enough as it is, and now they have to worry about possibly putting on bulletproof helmets,” he said.
The Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team (SMART) is conducting the investigation. The team investigates when there is a police use of force incident such as an officer-involved shooting.
Officers from Everett and Edmonds are at the scene along with deputies from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.