KENT, WA — Kent police are investigating two shootings that happened Tuesday night within about two hours of each other, including one that turned fatal at a transit hub on Military Road South. A man was found on the ground with gunshot wounds after officers responded to reports of gunfire shortly after 6 p.m.
He died at the scene. Police said the two incidents do not appear to be connected, and detectives are still working to identify suspects in both cases.
Fatal shooting reported at Metro Park and Ride
The first emergency call came in shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Metro Park and Ride on Military Road South. When officers arrived, they found the victim suffering from gunshot wounds on the ground.
Police said the man was pronounced dead where he was found. Investigators have not released his name, and they said they do not yet have a suspect description or a vehicle description.
Even without those details, detectives said they do not believe the attack was random. That assessment suggests investigators are treating the killing as a targeted incident rather than a crime against people chosen at random.
Second shots-fired call came near a Kent restaurant
Roughly two hours after the first shooting, officers were sent to another shots-fired call near a chicken restaurant off Kent-Des Moines Road and Pacific Highway South. That scene was several miles away from the transit hub and brought a second round of police activity to the city that evening.
At the location, officers recovered shell casings but did not find any victims. Police have not said whether anyone was injured and have not identified any suspects.
Nearby businesses told FOX 13 Seattle they did not have useful video to turn over to investigators, leaving detectives with fewer immediate leads from surveillance footage.
Police say the two incidents do not appear linked
Investigators have said the two shootings do not appear to be connected, despite happening on the same night and only a short time apart. That distinction matters because it means police are treating each case separately while still searching for any information that could help solve either one.
Kent police declined on-camera interviews as detectives continued to gather evidence. The department has not said whether the shootings share a motive, a suspect, or any other common thread.
For now, the focus remains on piecing together what happened at each scene, from witness accounts to physical evidence collected by investigators.
Residents describe fear after violence at a familiar transit stop
The shootings left some local residents shaken, especially those who already avoid the park-and-ride area after dark. Antonina, a Kent resident, said the violence was shocking and said her thoughts were with the victim’s family.
Her reaction reflected a broader unease that often follows public gunfire in places people regularly pass through. Transit hubs, restaurants, and busy roadside businesses are part of daily life, which can make violence in those settings feel especially unsettling.
Police have not said whether the park-and-ride or the restaurant area had been the scene of prior trouble that night. Detectives were still trying to determine who fired the shots and why.
Detectives continue gathering evidence in both cases
As of Tuesday night, Kent police had no arrests to announce in either shooting. They said detectives are actively working to collect evidence and track down suspects, but they did not give a timeline for updates.
The department also has not released information about possible witnesses, the type of weapon used, or whether either scene yielded any additional forensic evidence beyond the shell casings. Those unanswered questions leave the investigation open on both fronts.
For the community, the two shootings underscore how quickly routine errands and evening travel can be interrupted by violence. For investigators, the challenge is narrowing a field of unknowns while trying to establish a clear sequence of events at each location.
