A suspect is in custody after a series of shootings left a half dozen people injured along parts of Interstate 5 in the Seattle and Tacoma areas of Washington state, officials said, expressing outrage people were randomly attacked while just driving on a highway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the gunshot victims from Monday night\u2019s shootings is fighting for their life, Capt. Ron Mead of the Washington State Patrol said at a Tuesday afternoon news conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201dThese people didn\u2019t do something to deserve this,\u201d Mead told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The suspected shooter was taken into custody after law enforcement officers in Pierce County located a white Volvo they were searching for, Mead said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The suspect was compliant, according to a statement from the Pierce County sheriff\u2019s office, which posted a video from a deputy\u2019s bodycam of the arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The suspect was evaluated at a hospital and then transferred to the King County jail, where they are accused of first-degree assault, according to state patrol communications director Chris Loftis. He said the investigation is ongoing and they would not speculate on the alleged assailant\u2019s motive or mental state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officials did not name the suspect. CNN has reached out to the King County Prosecuting Attorney\u2019s Office for information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The suspect\u2019s vehicle has been identified by victims in four of the six shootings, authorities said. Three of Mondays shootings were on Interstate 5 northbound near Seattle while another three were in the southbound lanes to the south of the city, with one in Pierce County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five people were hit by gunfire and another person had abrasions from flying glass, according to Loftis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two women injured in different shootings were taken to Harborview Medical Center<\/u><\/a> in Seattle for treatment. One is in intensive care in serious condition and the second is listed in serious condition, hospital spokesperson Susan Gregg told CNN earlier Tuesday. Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Kaila Lafferty said one of the victims is 20 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A person who drove to Portland, Oregon, called the state patrol and said they were in the area of one of the shootings but didn\u2019t realize their vehicle had been shot until they got home. No one was hurt in that incident, Loftis said, adding the people were returning to Seattle to talk with investigators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is an attack not only on those innocent victims, but really on all of us as a society because it creates a fear in our transportation system that is unacceptable,\u201d Mead said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The shootings follow a recent increase in gun-related incidents on roadways in King County, which includes Seattle, according to CNN affiliate KING5<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were 577 calls reporting a roadway crime involving a gun \u2013 including the brandishing of a firearm \u2013 between February 2023 and February 2024, KING5 reported, citing data from the Washington State Patrol. It\u2019s a 70% increase from the number of incidents reported between March 2019 and March 2020, the outlet said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speakers at Tuesday\u2019s news conference made references to six shootings on area freeways in December<\/u><\/a> but said there isn\u2019t any evidence \u2013 at this point \u2013 that the suspect is tied to those or any other incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Authorities tracked the suspect \u2013 who has not yet been named \u2013 to an apartment complex in Tacoma, Sgt. Darren Moss Jr. of the Pierce County Sheriff\u2019s Department told CNN. After the suspect left the complex, officers used stop sticks to disable the vehicle, Moss said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A deputy ordered the suspect to walk backward with his hands up and then lay flat on his stomach, body camera video released by the sheriff\u2019s department shows. As he was handcuffed, a voice that appeared to be the suspect\u2019s twice said, \u201cI\u2019m not resisting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Traffic on southbound Interstate 5 just south of 320th Street in Federal Way was stopped briefly while troopers looked for evidence on the roadway, according to the state patrol<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSuspect was tracked to apartment complex<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n