A violent crime spree involving multiple carjackings and shootings ended when an armed citizen shot and killed the suspect at a Walmart parking lot in Washington over the weekend.
Suspect Carjacks Vehicle
A news release says the Walmart shooting incident began on Sunday at around 4:40 p.m. when Olympia police received word of an attempted carjacking at an area gas station. The suspect—44-year-old Tim Day—walked up to a family and tried to take their vehicle. When the family managed to evade Day, he fled the scene, driving the wrong day down Highway 101 and exiting into the city of Tumwater.
After driving erratically through the streets of Tumwater, Day crashed his car at an intersection. He then got out of his car and tried to carjack two other vehicles. During one of those incidents, he shot 16-year-old Danner Barton.
“There was a man, blond hair, standing in the middle of the road,” Barton recalled to KIRO 7, adding that the man “told me stop. He had a gun in his hand. He ended up taking one shot at my front windshield and it nicked my thumb.”
Luckily, Barton managed to escape.
“I ducked my head and I gunned it,” he told CBS 19.
Day also fired shots at another vehicle, but the driver managed to escape.
Eventually, Day successfully carjacked a third vehicle, which he drove to a nearby Walmart.
Walmart Shooting
Day parked the car, walked into the Walmart and proceeded to the sporting goods section. Once there, he fired a shot at locked ammunition display case, grabbed some ammo and walked out of the store.
Two shoppers, both armed citizens, observed Day’s actions and followed him as he exited the Walmart.
Once in the parking lot, Day tried to carjack another vehicle belonging to a man named Rick Fievez.
“So the shooter came up to my dad’s side, the driver’s side,” said Fievez’s son, Tyler. “Shot him twice. One in (the) shoulder, I think, one in the neck. So when he shot my dad, he looked at my mom and told my mom to get the ‘F’ out of the car.”
Day then walked up to another car in the Walmart parking lot. When the driver backed away, one of the armed citizens raised his concealed carry gun and opened fire, shooting Day.
After the shooting, the armed citizen grabbed his first aid kit from his car and rendered first aid to Fievez, who was eventually airlifted to Harbourview Medical Center in critical condition. KIRO 7 reports that Fievez is paralyzed from the neck down.
Day was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the Seattle Times, he had an extensive criminal history, including violations of a domestic violence protection order, felony assault and making death threats. NW News Network said he’s also been arrested for drug possession, unlawful possession of a firearm, and trafficking in stolen property.
The 47-year-old armed citizen who killed Day is being praised by witnesses as a hero. He wishes to remain unidentified. The only thing known about him is that he’s a father, pastor, volunteer firefighter and medic.
“He is a hero,” witness Brian Adams said, adding that the man “was carrying a concealed weapon, which is great and is totally legal … He took action. I really think more people could have been shot… he saved us all.”
