Editor's Note: This story has been updated.
King County Sheriff's Sergeant Cindi West said a man suspected of shooting or assaulting three people in Renton is also the suspect in an Issaquah-area shooting around 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27.
The suspect allegedly chased his former mother-in-law, who's believed to be in her 60s, through her house at the 13400 block 209 Ave. SE, which is between Renton and Issaquah, and shot her multiple times in the back. She was transported to Harborview in critical condition.
The suspect, John L. McKay, 48, is considered armed and dangerous, and police believe a shooting victim in Renton just a short time earlier was also related to McKay.
According to Renton Police, a family dispute spilled out from behind closed doors and into the Highlands neighborhood on N.E. 5th Street just off Union Avenue this afternoon.
The Renton Police Department responded to a call of gunshots at 2:30 p.m. in the 4100 block of N. E. 5th Street Saturday.
They found an unconscious man who had been shot. Police located the man on the deck of a neighboring home, owned by former City Council candidate Mark Martinez.
Altogether, three people in Renton were transported to area hospitals with injuries. An adult male victim was transported to Harborview Medical Center with critical injuries, and two adults were taken to Valley Medical Center to be treated for injuries due to being “pistol whipped,” according to Renton Police. The victims are known to McKay and were targeted by him.
Neither Martinez nor his family was home at the time. He learned of the shooting from a neighbor who called to alert him of the police activity at his home.
“There is blood and medical supplies all over my back porch,” he said. His family is currently staying with Martinez’ in-laws.
Evidence of the shooting was apparent at his neighbor’s house.
“There are bullet holes in the house and the sliding glass door is shot out,” Martinez said. “It’s a pretty quiet neighborhood, but we’ve had problems with pretty much every renter in this house.”
The current renters — a mother, her adult son and his girlfriend and the couple’s young child — moved in this past summer, and the homeowner is in Indonesia he said.
Sgt. Dan Figaro with the Renton Police Department identified the suspect as McKay. He is driving a 2011 black Chevy Aveo rental car with an Oregon license plate: 025-JFQ .
The Issquah-area shooting occurred shortly after the incident in Renton, Figaro said.
“We believe the suspect was formerly related to the victim,” he said, calling it a “domestic relationship."
Patch will post more about the victims and the suspect as more information becomes available.
Renton Patch editor Jenny Manning contributed to this report.
