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Suspect Arrested In Freeway Shootings From December 6th

December 8, 2023

King County: At approximately 10:40pm last night, December 7, 2023, Washington State Patrol (WSP) troopers arrested an individual that is suspected to be involved in some of the shootings that occurred on I-5 the night of December 6, 2023, in south King County.

Shooting #1 – December 6, 2023, 9:20pm – The victim vehicle was traveling SB I-5 north of S. 320th when the suspect vehicle fired on round through the driver’s window striking him in the neck. The passenger was not injured. The driver was transported to Harborview Medical Center and is expected to recover.

Shooting #2 – December 6, 2023, 9:42pm – The victim vehicle was traveling NB I-5 near S. 200th when the driver of the suspect vehicle fired a round. No injuries sustained by victim.

In these two shootings both victims described the same exact vehicle and suspect description. It was a light blue Nissan 370z with a large rear spoiler and chrome rims with a white male driver possibly mid-30s. The suspect vehicle was last seen exiting to Interurban Ave in Tukwila.

Shooting #3 – December 6, 2023, 10:27pm – The victim was traveling SB SR 167 approaching Ellingson exit when a shot was fired at them. There was no vehicle description in this shooting.

Shooting #4 – December 6, 2023, 11:40pm – The victim was traveling SB I-5 near S. 320th when the driver of a gray mid 2000s pickup fired at them. The victim was not struck, and they were unable to provide a description of the suspect.

Shooting #5 – December 6, 2023, 9:00pm – This shooting was reported by the victim yesterday afternoon, December 7, 2023. The victim was traveling from SR 518 to SB I-5 when their vehicle was struck by one round. The suspect vehicle was described as a small car with loud exhaust and may be associated with the first two shootings. No injuries to the victim.

Shooting #6 – December 6, 2023, 9pm to 10pm – This shooting was also reported yesterday afternoon December 7, 2023. The victim was traveling SB I-5 near the southcenter area when an unknown vehicle fired at them. No injuries to the victim.
The suspect vehicle was identified based on descriptions from the first two victims, traffic cameras in the city of Tukwila, an alert from the FLOCK system in the city of Auburn and tireless work of Washington State Patrol detectives.

Law enforcement agencies county-wide had been alerted to the description of the vehicle and suspect. Shortly after 10:30pm last night, troopers received information the vehicle was in the Auburn area and were actively searching for the vehicle. The vehicle was located parked at an address in Auburn and a short time later the troopers observed the vehicle leaving the residence. The driver was confirmed to match the description of the suspect and a traffic stop was conducted and the driver was placed into custody. When the troopers went back to the vehicle they observed from the outside a semi-automatic handgun, loose ammunition and a spent shell casing in the back.

The vehicle was impounded and placed into WSP evidence, the suspect was interviewed and booked into the King County Jail for investigation of Drive By Shooting and Assault 1st Degree. The suspect was identified as Marco Antonio Ramos Valdez, a 28-year-old male from Auburn.

The actions of the suspect the night of December 6th met the very definition of an active shooter. The WSP has every reason to believe that the suspect was leaving last night to commit further shootings. There is no doubt that directly because of the tireless work of WSP detectives, uniformed troopers and information from our allied partners prevented further victims from being shot at and injured or worse.

This brings the number of shootings to 51 in 2023 that the WSP has investigated. If there any additional victims or anyone with information on these cases or any other crimes on the freeway system, please contact the Washington State Patrol. Email Detective Haake at Russ.Haake@wsp.wa.gov.

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Release sent by Trooper Rick Johnson

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