An investigation is underway after a shooting involving Edmonds officers turned fatal on Friday.
Police were called to the Americas Best Value Inn, located in the 22100 block of Highway 99, for a report of a domestic violence incident.
Police said a man armed with a knife lunged at officers, and an officer used a stun gun on him. However, he continued to attack, so another officer fired their service weapon.
The man was taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition, where he died, law enforcement said.
Mary Emily, the man’s girlfriend, told KIRO 7 a mental breakdown led to a two-hour standoff before the police opened fire.
“They shot him instead of getting him help,” she said.
Emily said the incident was not rooted in violence but in the trauma of mental illness.
“Everything he said, if a mental health worker were actually speaking with him, they would’ve been able to identify that this man was actually suicidal,” she said.
Emily said she was staying in the room next to her boyfriend when he had a breakdown, threatening to take his own life.
That prompted the standoff.
“I listened and he tapped on the wall with a knife and he said, ‘mama, I’m putting it up to my throat, I’m gonna do it,’” she told KIRO 7.
Following that, she said the entire floor was evacuated.
Immediately afterward, there was gunfire.
“They didn’t even try to talk him down. They didn’t do anything. They just shot him,” she said.
Although Emily insists her boyfriend was not a threat, she said he likely put up a struggle with police because he was afraid of being arrested.
“He was scared that if he came out, he would go back into the system that was not just to him,” said Emily.
The incident is the first officer-involved shooting in Edmonds since 2013.
The Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team is now investigating.
This browser does not support the video element.