Two people were injured and a suspect shot dead after a man tried to carjack several people in Tumwater Sunday afternoon. The man's spree ended at a Walmart, after a bystander intervened, police say.
The incident happened around 5 p.m. at the Walmart Supercenter at 5900 Littlerock Rd SW, located near several businesses, including a Home Depot and a Toyota dealership.
According to a police spokesperson, the call began as a DUI suspect call. While police were searching for the suspect, they believe the suspect shot a man while attempting to carjack him in the parking lot of the Walmart. That's when a bystander stepped in and shot the suspect, who died at the scene. Witnesses say the bystander then grabbed a medical kit and rendered aid to the victim who was shot.
"He is a hero. This (suspect) could have taken out more people, wounded or killed," said witness Brian Adams. "(The suspect) hijacks a car apparently to get here, then hijacks another car. If this customer hadn't done what he did.... Yeah, he's a hero."
Police say the suspect had also tried to carjack a second person, a 16-year-old girl. She sustained minor injuries.
The driver who was carjacked suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He was listed in critical condition.
While police say the shots happened outside the Walmart, witnesses say they could hear the shots from inside the store.
"All of a sudden, you hear this pop or a crash sound...About 15 to 20 seconds maybe even later, another sound exactly the same," said John Gerasimczyk. "I saw everyone else started to exit the area. Some people were moving more slowly, they were still kinda confused what was going on, so I just started shouting, go, go, go!"
An active investigation was underway at multiple scenes at or around the Tumwater Walmart, all believed to be related to the incident. Police were also interviewing witnesses.
They hope to have another update Monday morning.
KING 5's Michael Crowe and Liza Javier contributed to this report.
