TUKWILA, Wash. — An officer heard the gunfire but couldn’t find a victim. Two days later, a maintenance worker did.
Tukwila police said a man’s body was found in a woman’s backyard last month, and newly released surveillance videos obtained by KIRO 7 show the murder victim being chased through the streets moments before the sound of gunfire filled the early morning air.
Six gunshots were fired in 12 seconds, according to police.
"It almost sounded like a knock,” said the woman who lives in the home where police said the murder victim was found. She did not want to be publicly identified.
"I jumped and I ran to the living room and made sure everything was locked,” she said. “I wasn't sure if it was an intruder or where the noise was coming from.”
The woman, who said she was wearing headphones that muffled the gunshots, told KIRO 7 she had three young children home at the time of the shooting on December 2nd and is relieved no one was hurt by a stray bullet.
"It was literally right behind my bedroom window,” she said.
Days later, the woman said her maintenance worker found the body.
"When I saw him, his face was just pale as a ghost, he was in shock,” she said, describing the maintenance worker’s reaction.
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the murder victim as Liban A. Dahir, according to court documents.
Surveillance videos obtained by KIRO 7 Tuesday showed Dahir outside a gas station on Tukwila International Boulevard, according to police.
Investigators said video also captured the man now charged in Dahir’s murder, Deon Robinson, Jr., rolling up to the gas station on a scooter and shouting, “Got my phone (expletive)?”
Robinson believed Dahir had his cellphone that he’d lost earlier in the evening, charging papers said.
Cameras captured Robinson chasing Dahir on foot from the gas station, according to police, who said nearby Foster High School cameras recorded the muzzle flash of a gun and then Robinson running away from the area of the shooting moments later.
"Very scary, just so close to home,” said the mother who was asleep nearby.
Investigators say they did find a cellphone next to Dahir’s body that contained a video Robinson apparently took of himself with his dog. Robinson was later arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
Court documents state he denied having a gun, firing a gun or even hearing gunshots.
Robinson’s bail has been set at $1 million.
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