Four drive-by shootings on I-5 in 3 weeks

The Washington State Patrol is investigating multiple drive-by shootings on I-5.

Troopers have responded to four drive-by shootings on I-5 since July 14, including two that happened on August 3.

• July 14 at 3:30 am: A driver was shot at five times in Lynwood near 44th Avenue.
• July 27 at 12:55 am: Two people were shot and injured after two random cars opened fire near the SR 516 exit.
• August 3 at 6:00 am: A driver was shot at three times in downtown Seattle near the Seneca Street exit.
• August 3 at 11:00 pm: A driver was shot at twice in Lynwood near the 164th Street exit.

In all four shootings, the drivers were traveling northbound on I-5.

No arrests have been made and the investigations for all four shootings are ongoing.

“I’ve had a 14-year career with the WSP and for several years we didn’t have shootings on I-5. This seems to be a very recent, very unique uptick,” Rocky Oliphant, a trooper with the Washington State Patrol, said.

Oliphant also said, for now, there isn’t much evidence for detectives. However, he pointed at two pieces of information that could show a commonality between at least some of the shootings:

1. The randomness behind all four drive-by shootings: “There’s no instigation involved,” Oliphant said. “It was just that they were driving down the road, according to the victim… He didn’t do anything to cause any erratic behavior from anybody else. He was just driving northbound minding his own business. And then, he was shot at.”
2. The victims from the two separate shootings on August 3 provided similar descriptions of a suspect vehicle, a red sedan with an “older body style”: “Sometimes people may think it looks like one thing, but it might be a slightly different model. The fact that they’re older and they’re red is at least something we’re going to look into,” Oliphant said.

The victim in the shooting near downtown on the morning of August 3 described the suspect vehicle as an “early 2000s red Lexus sedan with damage to the driver’s side fender and tinted windows,” Oliphant said.

The victim in the shooting near Lynwood on the evening of August 3 described the suspect vehicle as an “older body style maroon Ford Taurus,” Oliphant said.

The latest drive-by shooting on I-5 in Lynnwood also included a blue laser, which investigators believe could be a laser sight attachment on the suspected firearm.

“Hopefully (we can) make some arrests out of this and have some answers for people,” Oliphant said.

Anyone with any relevant information on the four shootings is asked to contact the following detectives, depending on the shooting:

• July 14 at 3:30 a.m. on I-5 near 44th Avenue in Lynnwood: Detective Comnick at 425-508-0606 or Daniel.Comnick@wsp.wa.gov
• July 27 at 12:55 a.m. on I-5 near SR 516: Detective Hahn at 425-401-7747 or Theodore.hahn@wsp.wa.gov
• August 3 at 6:00 a.m. on I-5 near downtown Seattle: Detective Haake at 425-401-7717 or Russ.Haake@wsp.wa.gov
• August 3 at 11:00 p.m. on I-5 near 164th Street in Lynwood: Detective Lancaster at 425-923-6718 or Joshua.Lancaster@wsp.wa.gov

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