Police have a subject in custody who was linked to a gunshot-damaged motorhome that was found parked on the Island on the morning of Aug. 8. A 911 caller reported observing the vehicle positioned at the intersection of East Mercer Way and Southeast 36th Street.
Mercer Island officers spotted a firearm at the scene upon their rapid arrival after dispatch received the 6 a.m. call. No injuries were reported during the incident at press time and there is no danger to the public, according to the Mercer Island Police Department (MIPD), which issued an update at 9:35 a.m.
“Officers are investigating the sequence of events that led to the motorhome being abandoned on Mercer Island,” reads the press release, which added that members of the King County Sheriff’s Office, Bellevue Police Department and Washington State Patrol helped secure the scene and safely search the motorhome.
While surveying what MIPD termed a “dynamic scene,” officers closed East Mercer Way off ramps from both directions of Interstate 90 to ensure the public’s safety during the initial investigation.
Police moved the motorhome to the Mercer Island City Hall parking lot and it had plastic taped to a large portion of a rear window, as witnessed by the Reporter later that morning.
MIPD Operations Commander Mike Seifert said the male transient suspect in his 50s appeared to have experienced a mental health crisis.
“Our detectives are completing their investigation and working with the prosecutor’s office and mental health system to determine the best way to continue,” Seifert said.
In a follow-up to the earlier report that afternoon, MIPD again thanked the partnering agencies for assisting local officers in locating the subject.
Meeghan Black, public information officer for the Bellevue Police Department, said the partnerships are critical between adjacent agencies to ensure regional safety.
“We often rely on what we call mutual aid to back up and assist each other when the need arises, that could be due to call load, proximity or the severity of the call. We are proud of the relationships we have built with neighboring agencies,” Black said.
During an hour-long Island home invasion in April, MIPD received assistance from Bellevue and Kirkland police units — including a Bellevue K-9 unit — to de-escalate the situation and arrest the suspect, reads a previous Reporter story.
According to MIPD public information officer Lindsey Tusing in April, “When three departments can come together in an instant like that and work together seamlessly, that’s the best situation we can hope for.”
MIPD will release further details about the Aug. 8 incident when they become available.
