SeaTac shooting suspect likely killed himself; son released from hospital

KING COUNTY, Wash. — UPDATE: The toddler injured in the May shooting in SeaTac was released from the hospital July 17.

ORIGINAL STORY:

There are new developments in the search for a man suspected of shooting two people, including his young son in SeaTac.

A man who identified himself as the suspect called 911 to turn himself in. But instead, he appears to have shot and killed himself.

The search for suspect Dion Johnson has almost certainly ended on a quiet street in Skyway.

The King County Sheriff’s Office won’t officially identify the man whose body they found. But they said they are no longer looking for the suspect in Saturday’s shooting.

The toddler’s mother spoke to KIRO 7 about two hours before there was word on whether Johnson might have been found.

“And then he pointed the gun at the baby,” said Astride Simon, “and shot him like three to four times.”

Simon could hardly talk as she described the unthinkable: Her estranged boyfriend barging into her home, heading straight for her mother’s bedroom, where she was watching Simon’s 17-month-old son.

“He said, ‘Give me my baby, or I’m going to kill you,’” she said, her voice breaking. “My mom didn’t see a gun. So my mom said, ‘Go ahead.’ He pulled out the gun and just shot her like two times, one in the leg, one in the arm.”

Then he turned the gun on their son.

“And my baby was shot in the stomach,” Simon said. “And the baby was shot in the leg. And the baby was shot in the hip. He’s in critical condition at this point.”

Surveillance video shows Johnson calmly leaving the Simon home and essentially disappearing.

By late Saturday night, the King County’s sheriff had put out photographs of Johnson asking for help finding him. They had already found his car abandoned in South Seattle.

Then just after 2:40 p.m. Sunday, they got a 911 call from a man identifying himself as Johnson, saying he wanted to turn himself in.

“Deputies responded to 118 68th Avenue South,” said Sgt. Tim Meyer, King County Sheriff’s spokesman. “Subject began to walk northbound from my location here. As deputies contacted him, he took his own life.”

Meyer would not formally identify the man investigators said is here. But he indicated they are no longer looking for Johnson.

Now, those he hurt are having to live with the devastation he has left behind.

“Thank the God my mother is all right,” said Simon, her voice breaking. “But I ask everyone to pray for my baby. I ask everyone to pray for my baby, please.”

The King County Medical Examiner will formally identify the man who died likely later this week.

When told that he might be dead, Simon said she is “angry.”

“He needed to suffer like my son is suffering now,” she said.

She is back at her son’s bedside at Harborview Medical Center.

That’s just over 7 miles from Saturday’s shooting scene.

It’s not yet known what happened between the time of the shooting and his death by suicide.

The shooting happened around 10 a.m. near the 15200 block of 30th Avenue South.

A spokesperson with the King County Sheriff’s Office said yesterday that the shooting appeared to be domestic violence-related.

The boy and the woman were taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition, but her condition was later upgraded to satisfactory.

Deputies searched for Johnson, who was considered armed and dangerous, after he fled the scene. They found his Ford van in the 5100 block of South Bond Street.

He was wanted for attempted murder, felony assault and attempted kidnapping.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Cox Media Group