MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Police are still looking for a suspect in a surprise attack earlier this month at a Mountlake Terrace apartment, where two men were shot, one in the neck and the other in the head.
Deguialin Babkino Valdez, 22, of Everett, was charged with four counts of first-degree assault Wednesday in Snohomish County Superior Court. Public records suggest he has ties to Whatcom and Snohomish counties.
So far, police do not know his whereabouts, Mountlake Terrace police Cmdr. Pat Lowe said. The court authorized a $200,000 warrant for his arrest.
The attack on April 18 appeared unprovoked, deputy prosecutor Michael Boska wrote.
Mountlake Terrace police officers responded to the apartment complex around 11:30 p.m. April 18. They found a man in a car parked outside the unit with a gunshot wound to the neck. Inside, another man was on the dining room floor, suffering from a gunshot to his head.
Both were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The man who was shot in the neck has been released. The other man underwent at least one surgery and was expected to need more. He was in critical condition and unable to talk to police about what happened. Authorities declined to provide more information about his injuries.
“There’s no indication he’s not going to survive this, as far as we can tell,” Lowe said.
Police talked with two other men at the apartment who were uninjured but also reportedly had a gun pointed at them. One said he was friends with Valdez and that Valdez had been staying with them at the apartment. They were hanging out earlier, drinking beer and having a good time, the friend reported.
When the group went to a bar, Valdez stayed behind, the friend reported. When they returned, Valdez allegedly jumped from the couch and began firing at them.
At first, the friend said, he didn’t realize Valdez was shooting a gun. He initially thought the man who was shot in the head was joking when he fell to the ground, according to charging papers.
Valdez kept firing, the friend reported, but missed. When Valdez ran out of bullets, he looked at the gun, said “empty,” and calmly walked out of the apartment, according to charges.
Police also interviewed the man who was shot in the neck, after he was released from Harborview. He reported he never made it inside the apartment, and that the defendant had pistol-whipped him and then apparently shot him. He said he didn’t realize at first he had been shot and thought the pain he felt was from being struck with the pistol.
Another roommate, who wasn’t there during the shooting, later returned from work. He reported to police that his .45-caliber handgun was missing from his bedroom. He recalled Valdez had asked if he could buy the gun. The roommate said he didn’t agree to sell the gun and he didn’t give Valdez permission to take the gun.
The man said he typically kept a magazine loaded with seven bullets next to the handgun.
Police noted bullet holes in the wall and collected five shell casings from the scene — three inside and two just outside the apartment.
None of the men knew why Valdez attacked, according to charging papers. They reported Valdez was known to use Xanax along with alcohol and marijuana, and that he may have mental health issues.
Zachariah Bryan: 425-339-3431; zbryan@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @zachariahtb.
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