19-year-old shot and killed during movie at AMC theater in Kent

KENT, Wash. — A night at the movies turned deadly for a man who was fatally shot inside a theater at the Kent Station shopping center.

According to Kent Police, the shooting happened while the suspect and victim were both watching a “Transformers” movie that started at around 10:30 p.m. Monday.

Kent officers were sent to the AMC Kent Station 14 theaters on Ramsay Way at 12:19 a.m. Tuesday after dispatchers received multiple calls about a shooting there.

Police arrived a minute later and were waved over to the south entrance as a crowd was leaving the theater. Officers entered the theater to find a 19-year-old Tukwila man with an obvious chest wound receiving CPR from one of his friends.

Officers carried the man out of the theater to a safe location and continued to give him CPR until medics arrived. He did not survive.

More officers arrived to search for the suspect, described as a “dark-skinned male about 5 feet, 11 inches tall, wearing a ski mask,” but he was not found and has not been identified.

KIRO 7 Reporter Kevin Ko spoke with a man who had blood all over his clothes. He said the victim was his friend and that he was with him from the moment he was shot until “his last breath.”

Fatal shooting at Kent movie theater Kent police said both the victim and suspect were watching a Transformers movie at the AMC Kent Station 14 theaters when the shooting happened. (KIRO 7 News)

Kent homicide detectives interviewed witnesses and gathered evidence. Police said three vehicles that may have been involved were impounded.

Officers remained at the shopping center, which was closed, hours later.

“We have solid leads in this investigation, and I am hopeful that we will identify and apprehend the suspect soon,” Kent Police Chief Rafael Padilla said in a news release.

Police said the attack appears to have been targeted and there is no danger to the public.

“All of a sudden, police come in, and like I saw lights move up in the movie theater and I thought it was part of the movie, and then all of a sudden they say, ‘You need to get out,’” said moviegoer Mikayla Jacobson-Brewer. “I overheard like somebody ask, they’re like, ‘Oh there was a shooting,’ so I rushed to my car, I was like, I don’t want to be here.”

An AMC spokersperson issued the following statement to KIRO 7 this afternoon regarding the incident:

AMC also noted that the theater will remain closed on Tuesday.

Earlier in the night, officers armed with rifles were seen in the area.

If you have any information about the shooting or what led up to it, you can contact the Kent Police Department by emailing KPDTipLine@kentwa.gov or calling the tip line at 253-856-5808.

If your tip is time sensitive, please call 911 and reference case #23-7685.