Suspect who ambushed, shot at Federal Way officer is caught

The 31-year-old Tukwila man is already in jail for unrelated crimes, police say.

Police have identified the suspect who shot at a Federal Way police officer sitting in traffic in Sept. 2021. The officer was not injured during the incident.

After months of investigative work, police recently charged a 31-year-old Tukwila man with first-degree assault and Violation of the Uniform Firearms Act (VUFA), according to the Federal Way Police Department on April 13.

The suspect is in custody at King County Jail on unrelated charges for other violent criminal acts, according to the department. The Mirror does not name suspects until they are charged in court.

Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Section conducted extensive and detailed analyses of fingerprints, ballistics, and video surveillance to locate the suspect, according to FWPD.

Federal Way police call the September attack “brazen and unprovoked.”

On the afternoon of Sept. 3, an officer was stopped at a traffic light on Pacific Highway South near South 330th Street driving a marked police SUV when a vehicle pulled up alongside the officer, according to Cmdr. Kurt Schwan of Federal Way Police.

A person from the vehicle then ambushed the officer and began shooting, the Mirror previous reported.

One tire and the push bar on the front of the police vehicle were shot.

“We are proud of the diligent investigation conducted by our detectives and especially proud of our women and men that put on a uniform every day, risking their own safety, to serve this community and all of its residents,” the department wrote in a release. “We thank you for your support of our department.”