Suspect faces murder charge after Lake Stevens shooting victim dies
Published 12:26 pm Thursday, October 8, 2026
EVERETT — A Tulalip man is now suspected of murder after a man died following a shooting early Monday morning in Lake Stevens.
The 28-year-old suspect is accused of opening fire on a 25-year-old man as they drove in a car together through Lake Stevens around 12:30 a.m. on Monday, according to charging documents.
The victim was rushed to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett with injuries described originally by police as life-threatening. He died at the hospital on Tuesday night, a report from the Lake Stevens Police Department said.
The suspect was taken into custody shortly after the shooting on suspicion of first-degree assault, court documents said.
On Thursday, prosecutors filed charges for second-degree murder in the course of a felony and unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree, court records said.
According to detectives, the victim was shot in the back of the head while in the passenger seat of a Jeep driving through Lake Stevens on Highway 92, also known as the Granite Falls Highway.
Witnesses originally reported the gun accidentally went off, shooting the victim, but police were immediately suspicious because the man had two visible gunshot wounds, court documents said.
Detectives also said the victim had wounds on his hand and forearm that were consistent with defensive wounds received while trying to stop someone from shooting them, a police report said.
Police found three fired shell casings on the suspect at the time of his arrest, court documents said.
A witness who was reportedly in the car with the men at the time of the shooting told investigators the men may have been in a dispute over a woman, a police report said. The men had also allegedly had a recent argument about money.
Another witness told a 911 dispatcher the group were roommates and were reportedly driving to the store when the gun was fired, court documents said.
The suspect is being held at the Snohomish County Jail on $500,000 bond, according to online jail records.
Ian Davis-Leonard: 425-339-3097; ian.davis-leonard@heraldnet.com
