Neighbors are in a state of shock after a woman was found stabbed to death, and a Renton police officer was attacked just before midnight Monday.
Neighbors are in a state of shock after a woman was found stabbed to death, and a Renton police officer was attacked just before midnight Monday.
Officers were dispatched to Burnett Avenue South near South 1st Street after 911 callers reported hearing breaking glass and other suspicious noises.
Officers arrived and saw a man in the area, who immediately ran.
"I could see an officer running across the Williams Avenue Bridge, yelling at someone again to stop, and then I heard two pops, which I thought was a gun at first," Christopher Jacobson told KOMO News. "I saw the suspect on the ground screaming."
During a short chase, the man stabbed and slashed a 24-year-old officer in the face with a knife, according to the Renton Police Department (RPD). The officer was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
After the suspect was taken into custody with the help of a Taser, police returned to the location to resume their investigation.
Investigators discovered and followed a trail of blood that led them to a unit at the Cedar River Terrace Apartments.
"They conducted a welfare check inside the residence; they found a blood trail, said Susan Lewis, the RPD commander overseeing investigations.
That blood trail led to a third-floor unit, where officers found a woman dead from stab wounds.
"I am very sorry that we now live in a country where these things happen very frequently; they do not happen in this neighborhood, so it's unusual," said Lora-Ellen McKinney, who lives in the neighborhood. "It's horrible."
Officials said there was a broken window near the first-floor entrance.
According to the building's website, the apartment complex is subsidized senior housing for people 62 and older.
"I moved away from Seattle because (there's) so much crime there. So I decided to sell my house and move to this condo here, safe. There's no place to go to be safe; (there's) crime everywhere," Mulatu Aumoeualogo told KOMO News.
By 6:45 a.m., police had received a search warrant that allowed them to enter the apartment. The Washington State Patrol Crime Lab was at the scene while evidence was collected.
The investigation continues as detectives work to determine the suspect's relationship to the victim.
