Navy veteran accused of shooting and killing Renton teen in custody

RENTON, Wash. — A navy veteran out of Newcastle is behind bars at the King County Jail after allegedly shooting and killing a 17-year-old outside a store at a Renton shopping center Wednesday evening.

Renton Police say the 51-year-old confronted three teenagers outside the Big 5 Sporting Goods store, got into an argument with them, then a fight broke out until finally, the man shot one of the teens 7 times.

“You can’t go anywhere without being afraid of anyone around you. Day or night. Young or old. It doesn’t really matter,” LeAnn Coats, who plans on moving from Renton, said.

The suspect first appeared in court on Thursday afternoon at the King County Jail courtroom. His defense attorney claims that the Navy veteran saw the three teens with what appeared to be guns walk toward the sporting goods store.

According to probable cause documents, the suspect feared for his 13-year-old son’s safety. The son was in jiu-jitsu class next to the Big 5 store. Investigators say it appears the teens were returning airsoft guns to the store.

KIRO 7 returned to the scene on Thursday and spoke with multiple neighboring businesses about the shooting. Jonas Sternberg, the owner of Sierra Fish Pets, says his store closed for the night when the shooting happened.

“I got a text from an old employee that said look what happened in the shopping center. And I was just shocked. Just shocked,” Sternberg said.

Sternberg says this brings up safety concerns for his store, customers, and the entire shopping center. He says the thing is truly upsetting.

“What possesses somebody to get into an altercation and somebody to pull a gun? That’s a whole other level and whole other story,” Sternberg said.

Residents of Renton were also upset to learn that the King County Sheriff’s Office was conducting a training exercise right next to the shopping center, and just down the road, the City of Renton was holding a public safety forum.

“It feels like nowadays we talk about it so much and we say things need to be fixed and things need to be solved and all, but what’s actually happening? Nothing. So, it’s time that we actually start making change instead of just talking about how change needs to happen,” Coats said.

The suspect has not been charged, but remains in custody with a bail set at $2 million.

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