An Auburn man shot and killed a suspected car thief during a shootout early Tuesday in Maple Valley, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office.
The Auburn resident – whom family identified as 24-year-old ex-Marine Keenan Thompson – was walking his dog shortly after midnight outside of his aunt’s house in the 21800 block of Southeast 236th Place when he saw a 27-year-old man inside his white Toyota pickup.
Thompson reportedly yelled at the suspect who then produced a .45-caliber handgun. Thompson – who has a concealed weapons permit – produced his own 9-millimeter handgun and exchanged gunfire with the suspect, hitting him one or more times, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
According to a KOMO News report, Thompson’s aunt, Kristen Hague, witnessed the incident and was pushed out of the line of fire by her nephew.
“My life was in danger, my nephew’s life was in danger, and he did the right thing, even though it ended really bad and really sad,” she said.
She added that she attempted to perform CPR on the suspected car thief after the shooting.
“There was a guy on the ground dying and it was instinct and … I just went in and started doing compression on his chest … until help got there,” she told KOMO. “It was all I could do.”
When King County Deputies arrived on the scene four minutes after the initial 911 call, they found the suspect dead. They were unable to revive him.
Thompson and his aunt were uninjured in the shootout.
A female suspect, an accomplice who had arrived at the scene in a stolen Honda Civic with the deceased man, also was uninjured. She was taken into custody by deputies for an outstanding burglary warrant and booked into jail. She may face additional charges stemming from the shooting, according to a King County Sheriff’s Office press release.
Thompson was briefly detained, then released.
After the Sheriff’s investigation is complete, the case will be turned over to the King County Prosecutor, which will decide if charges are to be brought against the female suspect.
The prosecutor also will determine whether Thompson is to face any charges in the shooting.
