Neighbors react to the tragic mass shooting in Fall City

FALL CITY, Washington. – Investigators say a shooting at a Fall City home left five of seven family members dead and left neighbors in shock.

According to the King County Sheriff’s Office, a teenager is in custody and charged with what they describe as domestic violence.

According to neighbors, the oldest children in the home were around 15 years old. They say although the parents often kept to themselves and were busy with work and home projects, the children in the home were friendly and often socialized with people in the community, sometimes helping other neighbors with projects around their homes.

When the rain fell on Lake Alice on Monday, it matched the somber mood of neighbors like Lynne Trowern. She and others watched as King County officials investigated a shooting that devastated the large family known in the lakefront community.

“I just saw the kids in the driveway yesterday afternoon,” Trowern said. “I’m shocked. I kept bursting into tears.”

Trowern said she remembers celebrating with the children on the Fourth of July.

“The kids came over on the Fourth of July and played sparklers and everything,” she said.

Neighbors said the five children could be seen swimming, fishing and boating all summer from the shore of their lake home.

“The little girl recently painted me a picture and gave it to me a few months ago and I still have that picture,” Trowern said.

Neighbors said the children were helpful and well-behaved and that the whole family could be seen walking by the lake almost every day.

“So polite. Homeschooling. It’s unimaginable what happened,” said Cameron, a former neighbor.

On Sunday the music from the children’s piano could still be heard in the garage.

“Yesterday it was very quiet there until 4 p.m. I think they just got home from somewhere and the kids were running up and down the driveway like usual, one of the boys was playing the piano in the garage and it started raining so I came in,” Trowern said.

The music was silent overnight just before emergency calls came in.

“They shot the other family members, I think there are five in total, not including the RP (reporting party) who is hiding in the bathroom,” a dispatcher said during a call.

The King County Sheriff’s Office reports a teenage girl was shot twice but was able to leave the home to get help.

“We learned that there was a neighbor with medical experience who had helped a victim who had been shot but survived,” said Mike Mellis of the King County Sheriff’s Office.

Officers described chaos upon arrival, saying two adults and three children had died in the home.

“They immediately took a young male teenager into custody,” Mellis said. “It appears to be a family incident, a domestic violence incident involving a young man who is in significant difficulty and involving firearms.”

Mellis says the escaped girl was taken to Harborview for treatment Monday and was in satisfactory condition.

“I keep seeing the kids’ faces, I don’t know the details or anything, but I know something terrible happened there,” Trowern said.

What’s next, law enforcement say the investigation will expand and multiple search warrants will be issued for cellphones and social media apps.

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