Bothell officer shot, killed man who reportedly had knife

Police said the man was slashing tires. He “advanced” on the officer with the knife, detectives say.

BOTHELL — A Bothell officer shot and killed a man who came at him with a knife Wednesday night, according to police.

The officer was responding to reports of a man slashing tires around 7:30 p.m. near 228th Street SE and 20th Avenue SE, said Everett police officer Aaron Snell, a spokesman for the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team, known as SMART.

The suspect “advanced towards the officer with a knife,” according to a news release. The officer fired multiple times, according to SMART. The officer announced on the radio that shots had been fired and requested aid.

Other police arrived and immediately began trying to save the man’s life. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he died.

SMART, a cadre of Snohomish County detectives assigned to investigate police uses of force, responded to the scene Wednesday night.

No officers were injured, Snell said. The officer who fired the gun has been placed on administrative leave, a standard practice in police shootings. The officer’s rank and identity had not been released as of Thursday.

A knife was recovered at the scene, according to the news release.

The fatal shooting came less than two weeks after rookie Bothell officer Jonathan Shoop, 32, died from friendly fire in a brief shootout with a man fleeing a downtown traffic stop.

A suspect in that case has been charged with aggravated murder in King County.

Bothell straddles the King-Snohomish county line. The shooting on Wednesday was in the northern, Snohomish County part of the city, in a neighborhood along I-405.

On Thursday, investigators asked any witnesses, or anybody with potentially relevant information, to call the SMART tip line at 425-262-2800, or email SMARTtipline@Snoco.org.

Herald reporter Caleb Hutton contributed to this report.

Zachariah Bryan: 425-339-3431; zbryan@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @zachariahtb.

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