Deputies: 3 Arrested For Shooting, Zip-Tie Kidnapping

SUMMIT, WA — Three people have been arrested after a bizarre shooting and kidnapping early Monday.

According to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, their investigation began around 6:30 a.m. Monday when witnesses heard several shots fired in a supposedly vacant property on 50th Avenue E., near the intersection with 112th St. in the Summit area.

But when the first deputy arrived he was surprised to find something unexpected— a man standing in the middle of the road, his hands cuffed together with zip ties. The deputy then cut the man loose.

As the victim explained, he and a friend had been sleeping outside near a campfire, when in the middle of the night two strangers barged in, waking them by shining a flashlight in their eyes. Those strangers then held them at gunpoint and tied up both the men with zip ties. At one point, one of the men was also hit with the butt of a rifle.

Those suspects then allegedly approached a nearby camper trailer, yelling at everyone inside to get out. When no one left, they fired several shots into the trailer before running off. Two people had been inside the trailer, but avoided being hit by lying face down on the floor.

After the suspects left, one of the zip-tied men ran off to seek help, he was later found by deputies relatively unharmed.

As deputies searched the vacant lot for clues, they say they found several suspicions vehicles: motorcycles ATVS, and boats, plus several tools and generators, all of which had missing VINs, plates or had their ignitions punched, so they could not be identified. How all of them ended up on the property and who placed them there is still under investigation.

Shortly after the Sheriff's Department interviewed the first kidnapping victim, a deputy spotted a car that looked like the one the suspects had used to flee the scene. After pulling it over, they found a hand gun, several zip ties and a night vision camera inside.

Deputies then arrested the three people inside the vehicle. They have been identified only as a 36-year-old man from Seattle, a 41-year-old Bellevue woman, and a 42-year-old Federal Way man. All three have been booked into the Pierce County Jail and are expected to face charges for assault, burglary and kidnapping.

There are still many unknowns in this case, including the motives behind the three suspects, which two of the suspects were actually seen performing the kidnapping, and how all the suspicious vehicles and items ended up in the vacant lot. Deputies say they will be continuing to investigate and hope to have more answers soon.