By Tim Clifford

In an unfortunate case of “wrong place, wrong time” a cab driver was seriously wounded in Des Moines Monday night after being caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting.

The 50-year-old driver, whose name has not been disclosed at this time, had just dropped off a fare at a home in the 21800 block of 30 Ave. S., a residential area that is close to the SeaTac city line. As the cabbie was driving away he noticed a green Ford Expedition, with its passengers hanging out of the windows and armed with guns, coming in the opposite lane. At the same time the driver also noticed three men standing across the street in front of a small apartment complex.

As the Ford was passing the cab its passengers opened fire in the direction of the three men on the street with an estimated fifteen rounds being fired. One bullet blew out the driver’s side window and hits the cab driver in the upper body, exiting through his lower right abdomen. The cabbie sped away and sought help at the 7-11 on 216 St.

Des Moines Police only received one call from the neighborhood around 9:50 p.m. concerning the gunshots but there was no description for any of the vehicles or men involved. Minutes later SeaTac Police received the call from the 7-11 about the wounded driver and deputies with the King County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to investigate.

Immediately the investigation was handed over to Des Moines PD once the details of the shooting became clearer.

Medics who arrived and assessed the driver informed Des Moines PD that while his injuries were serious they expected him to live. Despite that hopeful outlook Medic One units transported the driver to Harborview, indicating that his wounds were extremely serious.

Officers who went back to investigate the scene of the shooting found numerous 9 mm casings and found several parked cars that had been hit as well. No blood was found at the scene but officers are unclear if shots were fired back at the Ford or not and if a second victim may be out there.

The shooting happened so quickly that while the cab driver was able to describe the vehicle he did not get a good enough look at any of the men involved to even provide a description of their race.

Later that night dispatchers received a call from a citizen who informed them that he had just seen a green SUV get dropped off at a mobile home in the Pine Terrace trailer parks at 21814 Pacific Hwy S. Responding officers noted that the vehicle matched the description provided by the cab driver and were also able to peer inside the vehicle (they did not have a search warrant so they could only look) and were able to see evidence that indicated this was the car they were looking for. Sgt. Doug Jenkins with Des Moines PD would not elaborate at this time what it was that they saw.

The Expedition was impounded and the owner of the vehicle is currently being questioned. In the coming days officers will be granted a search warrant and can then proceed with a more thorough search of the car. The cab driver’s vehicle is also currently impounded and will be used as evidence should a suspect ever be caught.

Gang activity is very heavy in the area where the incident occurred but police are unsure what actually motivated the shooting. It is also unclear if the suspects were shooting at the three men who were seen on the street or if they firing at the apartment complex behind them.
The suspects remain at large at this time.