YAKIMA, Wash. – A 71-year-old man was shot in self-defense after threatening a family with a gun while on their property.
According to the Yakima Police Department, officials responded to shots fired on May 11 at 3:30 p.m. Police found a 71-year-old dead of a gunshot wound. Police were able to find the 27-year-old shooter, who told officers that he shot the man to protect his family. A small pistol was found on the deceased man.
Witnesses confirmed the shooter’s version of events with video evidence and statements. The 27-year-old man was released after speaking with the Yakima County Prosecuting office.
“In the state of Washington, the aspect of self-defense is always something that we as prosecutors have to evaluate,” says Yakima County Prosecutor Joe Brusic. “When we’re looking at self-defense, we always look at the subjective facts.”
Brusic says in order to be ruled self-defense, there must be evidence to show the person felt their lives or other lives were in imminent danger.
To respond with deadly force, the person must have been threatened with a deadly weapon to warrant the defense justified.
“The person that generally uses self-defense is a person in a place where they have the right to be,” says Brusic. “If you’re in your home, you have the right to be there. And that’s where people can stand their ground.”
Brusic couldn’t comment on the active investigation but says that video evidence is the best possible evidence to prove self-defense.
“Law enforcement agencies not only canvas neighborhoods, but they get surveillance videos from businesses and house around the area,” says the prosecutor.
This investigation is still active, and the Yakima County Prosecutor’s office says it will need to review evidence before making a formal decision.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Sergeant Noah Johnson of the Yakima Police Department’s Major Crime Unit at (509) 576-6784.
