LYNNWOOD — A 17-year-old boy was seriously wounded Friday evening when gunfire erupted between two groups in the Starbucks parking lot of a busy shopping center along Highway 99 in Lynnwood.
Lynnwood police said the shooting occurred shortly before 6 p.m. in the Starbuck/AutoZone shopping center at the intersection of Highway 99 and 168th Street SW. The area was crowded with evening shoppers when two groups totaling four to six people got into an argument that escalated into a gunfire exchange. Multiple rounds were fired, striking several vehicles. No bystanders were injured.
Police arrived to find at least 37 shell casings but no one at the immediate scene. The wounded teen left the scene in one of the vehicles involved. Occupants of that vehicle later pulled over and called 911. He was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he was listed in stable condition in the intensive care unit as of Friday evening and is expected to survive.
Members of the second group were detained by police for questioning and remained in custody. Search warrants have been issued as investigators collect video footage and interview witnesses. No arrests or charges have been announced.
The shooting stemmed from an argument between the groups. Lynnwood Police Commander Joe Dickinson said violence between groups has become increasingly common in the area over the past six years, with some suspicion of possible gang-related activity, though that has not been confirmed.
Recent gun violence involving young people in Lynnwood and Edmonds
The June 12 incident fits a pattern of disputes among young people in South Snohomish County escalating into gunfire and murder, some with innocent bystanders being victims. Since 2020 there have been 14 reported shooting incidents of 18 teenage victims resulting in five fatalities.
- July 13, 2022 (Lynnwood): Two teenagers were injured in a drive-by shooting near 164th Street Southwest.
- July 14, 2022 (Lynnwood): Two teenage boys, ages 15 and 16, were fatally shot at Spruce Park. This incident occurred a day after the nearby drive-by and left both victims dead from gunshot wounds.
- July 7, 2023: An eighteen-year-old suspect is in custody for a shooting incident that took place outside a Lynnwood 7-eleven.
- July 27, 2023: An early morning drive-by shooting in West Lynnwood sent three teens to the hospital.
- February 25, 2024: 18-year-old suspect believed to be connected to an assault in the Target parking lot, near Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood, that led to a police chase transpiring in a shootout near the 36th Avenue I-5 onramp, has been arrested.
- July 3, 2024 (Lynnwood): A 13-year-old girl, Jayda Woods-Johnson (a Brier Terrace Middle School student), was fatally shot at Alderwood Mall during an altercation between two groups of teens. She was an innocent bystander. The suspect, a 16-year-old boy from Edmonds.
- December 31, 2024 (Lynnwood): A 14-year-old boy was fatally shot, and another teenage boy was injured in a shooting at an apartment complex in the 19700 block of 68th Avenue West on New Year’s Eve.
- January 14, 2025 (Edmonds): An 18-year-old man was shot multiple times near the Edmonds fishing pier and Arnie’s restaurant around 2:30 a.m. He was left in critical condition.
- February 8, 2025 (Lynnwood): A 17-year-old boy was fatally shot in an accidental incident at a home in the 19900 block of 56th Avenue West. A group of unsupervised juveniles was present; police ruled it accidental, but no charges were specified.
- February 25, 2025 (Lynnwood): A 15-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the groin near the 4000 block of Alderwood Mall Boulevard. He had an outstanding warrant. His 13-year-old friend was arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm. The victim was hospitalized but survived.
- April 28, 2025: Lynnwood Police Department with assistance from the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force arrested a 17-year-old male and 19-year-old male who allegedly shot multiple rounds into a Swift Bus.
- March 6, 2026 (Lynnwood): A 15-year-old boy (a Meadowdale High School student) was shot at Meadowdale Park around 1:20 p.m.
- March 8, 2026: A 17-year-old male was shot in the 15900 block of Highway 99 in unincorporated Lynnwood. A 15-year-old suspect was arrested nearby; the pair knew each other.
- June 12, 2026: 17-year-old boy was seriously wounded after being shot in the Starbuck/AutoZone shopping center at the intersection of Highway 99 and 168th Street SW.
School Resource Officers (SROs) were removed from the Edmonds School District in June 2020, with the program fully dissolved in August 2020 after the Edmonds School board voted unanimously to cancel its remaining contract with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, removing the SRO Program from Lynnwood High School. The decision came amid nationwide discussions on police presence in schools following the George Floyd protests.
The ACCESS Project, launched by Wally Webster II, aims to identify youth who are having behavioral and mental health challenges, and get them the help they need before their behavior escalates to violence. The ACCESS Project has recently teamed up with Jaguars Community to restore the School Resource Officers to local schools throughout South County.
The new, redesigned SRO program proposed by the ACCESS Project and Jaguars Community, respectively, would, according to the nonprofits:
- Help protect students and staff in times of threat, crises, and emergencies
- Build constructive and trusted relationships between students and law enforcement
- Support prevention, early intervention, and de-escalation
- Partner with counselors, administrators, behavioral health professionals, and community organizations
- Clearly separate routine schools discipline from law enforcement responsibilities
- Require training in adolescent development, trauma enforced practices, cultural responsiveness, and conflict de-escalation
- And operate under clear policies, measurable standards, transparency, and accountability
Author: Mario Lotmore
