MLT police reports provide more detail on SPU shooting suspect; formal charges expected Tuesday

The residential street where Aaron Ybarra was found by MLT police in xxx.
The residential street where Aaron Ybarra was found by MLT police in October 2012.

Aaron Ybarra, the 26-year-old suspect in the Seattle Pacific University shootings, had two previous run-ins with Mountlake Terrace police, both of which were in close vicinity to his home in the southeast corner of the city.

Ybarra is scheduled to make his next appearance in a King County courtroom on Tuesday, June 10, where he is expected to be formally charged with murder and multiple counts of assault. A 19-year-old freshman was fatally shot and three other students were injured in the shooting on the SPU campus on June 5.

Ybarra’s previous contacts with the Mountlake Terrace police began in the early morning hours of October 9, 2010, when he called 911 and stated that he wanted to hurt himself and others, according to a MLT Police Department Mental Health Contact Report. Police found Ybarra in the Cedar Park Plaza parking lot outside Ringers Bar, 22803 Cedar Way, about a half-mile from his home.

The report stated that “Ybarra was very intoxicated” during the 3:10 a.m. incident, and that Ybarra told officers that he had a rage inside him and previous suicidal thoughts. Police transported Ybarra to Swedish/Edmonds Hospital for an involuntary commitment.

Two years later, in the early morning hours of October 8, 2012, police were called to the 4300 block of 238th Place SW, just outside Ybarra’s home where he lived with his parents, by a passer-by who reported a man lying in the street. Police found Ybarra in the street at 1:30 a.m., “very intoxicated,” saying that no one cared about him and that he wanted to die. Ybarra said he wanted a SWAT team to get him and make him famous, the report claims. Police again transported Ybarra for involuntary care.

In both incidents, officers noted that there were no chargeable offenses to detain Ybarra.

In new developments, Jon Meis, the SPU student credited with tackling Yberra and ending the threat of more death or injury during the shooting, issued a statement on Monday. You can view the statement here. Also, Seattle Pacific University has established a fund to support “those directly affected and meeting special needs” resulting from the June 5 shooting. You can make a financial donation here.

— Story and photo by Doug Petrowski

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