The man police say opened fire and killed Elijah Lewis in a road rage incident on Capitol Hill has been charged with murder.
Patrick Cooney, 35, has been charged with second degree murder and first degree assault. The King County Prosecutor’s office announced the charges Wednesday and said an added firearm enhancement could add additional prison time to a conviction.
Seattle Police say Cooney was riding an electric scooter on E Pine just after 5 PM Saturday when he became embroiled in an altercation with Lewis and opened fire into the vehicle the 23-year-old was driving, striking the man with a fatal shot and hitting the child in the calf. The child was treated for his injuries and released from the hospital Sunday. Lewis was shot in the chest and died at Harborview Saturday night.
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The charging documents provide additional details gathered during the police investigation including witness accounts that describe a black driver and a white scooter driver shouting at each other and Cooney allegedly trying to kick the car as the vehicle was driven past the scooter during the altercation.
Police say security video from the Walgreens at the corner of Broadway and Pine shows Cooney opening fire on the car even as it was turning to leave the area onto Broadway. Police say five spent shell casings were found at the scene. Three bullets were accounted for including the one that killed Lewis. Autopsy results show he had been shot in the back.
According to police, Lewis was in the neighborhood to pick up his nephew from his nearby apartment home and take him to a monster truck rally at Lumen Field to celebrate the child’s birthday.
The police report included in the charges does not include an account of the events from Cooney and it is not clear if police were able to interview the suspect.
It also does not specify if Cooney was legally carrying his handgun but there are no additional firearm related charges. We’ve asked prosecutors to clarify. UPDATE: The prosecutor’s office tells CHS the defendant has a concealed pistol license.
Cooney remains jailed on $2 million bail. He has not yet entered a plea on the charges. Prosecutors say they have no record of previous convictions in the county. According to court records, Cooney has been a Yesler Terrace area resident.
Lewis was remembered during a Sunday vigil at Broadway and Pine as a dedicated community builder and entrepreneur in the Central District and Africatown communities.
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Crazy how somebody with no past just murders somebody…what the hell. Who is this loser? Do we know anything more about the suspect? Was the gun owned legally?
Ever since the lockdowns, people are more tense and with shorter fuses. Sad to see.
People love to blame Covid precautions, but senseless violence and road rage have been happening for decades. The real culprit is our society’s ridiculous tolerance for gun violence and gun culture.
Not to mention woefully inadequate mental health resources.
Mental health resources are available to those who actively seek help. Don’t expect everything and everyone to come to you. Show up to doc appts, take your medicine and do the work on yourself to better your thoughts. A handful of psych pills alone does not work. A healthy mind can be a full time job. No drugs or alcohol, surround yourself w positive people. Me: over 40 yrs living with Bp1, rapid cycles w psychotic episodes. ADHD. Not a curse.
Play the hand your delt.
It’s this terrible positive feedback loop. Drivers got more aggressive because they got used to roads being empty during COVID and this makes everyone else madder at the drivers which pisses the drivers off more…
I hope you didn’t intend your comment to have anything to do with the killing of Elijah Lewis.If you did, you should really get your head checked…
You don’t think the current state of the city and the attitudes of it’s people is relevant to this?
The murderer broke the social contract in a way that requires him to no longer be part of said society.
This is unacceptable, tragic and unforgivable.