Police have revealed new details in a carjacking and shooting spree in Washington state that ended with an armed assailant shot dead by a citizen with a concealed carry permit.
The 47-year-old Oakville man who shot and killed the suspect outside the Tumwater Walmart on Sunday is reportedly an area pastor.The suspect, 44-year-old Tim O. Day, was shot moments after he fired multiple times at a man whose vehicle he was trying to carjack in the Walmart parking lot.
The pastor, who also has medical emergency training, provided first aid to the critically wounded man before he was airlifted to a Seattle hospital.
The gunman had earlier carjacked a vehicle and drove it to the Tumwater Walmart in an apparent attempt to steal ammunition. Day entered the store and made his way to a locked ammunition case in the sporting goods section, according to The Olympian. He then fired shots at the case to access its contents, and made his way out of the store.
Day then tried to carjack several cars before being shot and killed by the Oakville pastor.Kyle Fievez, the son of the critically wounded man, told reporters that he was in the car with his mother and father when Day approached and fired multiple rounds through the car’s glass.
Day then reportedly moved on to another car and when the driver backed away, the armed pastor shot him.“He shot him. I came up and he said do you have this place secured? I said yes,” Zamora says in a video recording tweeted by Austin Jenkins (@AustinJenkinsN3).
Zamora told Jenkins that he did not fire his gun.
Fievez told reporters Day shot his father in the neck and torso, and that bullet fragments were lodged near his spine.
A GoFundMe account set up for the man said he “lost his spleen and part of his pancreas,” and “also ruptured his stomach... he is paralyzed from the neck down.”
Police spokeswoman Laura Wohl told The Olympian that Day had a criminal record, and that he may have suffered from mental health and drug abuse problems.
Day’s former wife told Jenkins that he had a serious drug problem.
“I’m not real shocked ... but my heart is so sad, I thought he was doing better. I told everyone he’s going to get himself killed. He has a bad meth problem. I’m so sad,” she said.
Walmart issued a statement in response to the shooting.
Darren Gossler of Elma, who was in store at the time of the shootings, said he heard five or six pops while in store, and then ran out an emergency exit to get to his car, where he heard four more pops.
“I was in the dairy section. Heard about 5 or 6 pops. Ran out a side emergency exit and attempted to run to my car in the parking lot but heard 4 more pops in the lot. Caught a quick glimpse of a male with what appeared to be a handgun,” Gossler said, according to the Seattle Times.
Kailani Bailey, who was also inside the Supercenter at the time, said that a tall man entered the store and was shoving people out of the way. Moments later, popping sounds were heard inside the store.
“Then somebody yelled, ‘Run, run!’ and everyone took off,” Bailey said.
Brian Adams, who was shopping at Walmart and took cover in the parking lot said: “This guy could have taken out more people, wounded or killed.”
According to The Seattle Times, the suspect’s body remained lying in the parking lot for several hours while police conducted an extensive search in the area for shell casing and other evidence.
According to The Olympian, the Tumwater Police Department will host a resource fair Wednesday for those impacted by the shooting.
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