Allen Ivanov pictured on his Twitter page.
Three people are dead and another wounded after a shooting at a house party in rural Washington State. Authorities say that Allen Ivanov, 19, fled the scene of the shooting in Mukilteo, about 25 miles north of Seattle. He was arrested over 100 miles away in Lewis County. There were around 20 people in the home at the time of the attack.
Those killed have been named as Anna Bui, Jake Long, and Jordan Ebner.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Ivanov Had Just Broken Up With One of the Victims
Ivanov had just broken up with one of the victims in the shooting, according to Susan Gemmer, the grandmother to one of the attendees of the party, who was speaking to Q13 Fox. The station reports that Ivanov is thought to have shot two people at a fire pit in the backyard before going into the home to continue shooting. Ted Land with KING5 reports that the suspect had been on the roof firing at people as they tried to flee.
(Twitter)
2. In 2014, He Started a Laser Tag Kickstarter Company
(Instagram)
According to the Mukilteo Beacon, Ivanov graduated from Kamiak High School in 2015. A year previous, he launched a Kickstarter campaign for his own brand of laser tag known as Skirmos, a game that lets players “imagine your favorite first-person video game in real life.” The game’s website said that the campaign raised $98,000 for prototypes. A Reddit gaming thread was dedicated to skepticism about the project.
At the time of the shooting, Ivanov is a student at the University of Washington where he is an engineering and computer science major, according to his LinkedIn page. He had been working at an Apple Genius Bar having previously sold clothes at Abercrombie & Fitch. Ivanov also writes on his LinkedIn page that he is fluent in Russian.
3. Ivanov Was Arrested During a Traffic Stop
Mukilteo Police Officer Myron Travis addressing the media after the shooting. (Screengrab via KING5)
Ivanov was arrested during a traffic stop nearly 100 miles aways. KOMO News reports that he was arrested without incident at around 1:50 a.m. Q13 Fox reports that Ivanov had been traveling 18 miles over the speed limit when he was stopped while driving a 2016 Subaru WRX. Ivanov was then taken back to Mukilteo.
Travis said during the media briefing that the arrest was made based on interviews with witnesses. The stop was made on the southbound Interstate 5 in Lewis County close to the town of Chehalis, reports the Seattle Times. Authorities believe that Ivanov acted alone.
(Snohomish County Jail)
According to records from Snohomish County Jail, Ivanov was booked into the system just after 2 a.m. on July 29. He is facing three counts of murder one. The weapon used in the crime is described as a “non-family gun.”
4. A Multi-Agency Police Investigation Is Underway Into the Shooting
Being told by neighbors that a shooter has shot several people at a party in mukilteo #KOMOnews
Other departments, including the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington State Patrol are assisting the Mukilteo Police Department with the investigation, reports KIRO. When asked about a motive, Travis said, “We’re gathering all our evidence to determine how it happened, why it occurred,” Travis said. “Anytime you have such a massive crime scene (and) significant witnesses, there’s a lot of evidence to examine.”
In a press conference that was held at 4:30 a.m. local time, town Mayor Jennifer Gregerson said, “There were many young people who saw and heard things that no one should ever experience… Our community has suffered a great loss tonight.” While Mukilteo Police Officer Myron Travis also told the media that cops entered the home just after midnight on July 30 and found three people dead one and one person wounded. The Seattle Times reports that neither Travis nor Gregerson would “confirm that the people in the home might have been high school or college age.” The local Church of Latter Day Saints on Habour Pointe Boulevard was used at the reuniting spot.
KIRO reports that the process of notifying the victim’s families had already begun early Saturday morning.
The grandmother of a woman who attended the party told KOMO News:
My granddaughter called us about 20 minutes after midnight that she was hiding; that there had been a shooting and that two of her friends were shot and she was shot at.
We jumped out of bed, got dressed and got in the car as fast as we could.
SkyKING is over a shooting investigation in Mukilteo. 3 people shot dead at a party. 1 injured at Harborview.
KIRO reports that the wounded victim is being treated at Harborview Medical Center. Mayor Jennifer Gregerson said that medical personnel were “hopeful” about the wounded man’s condition.
5. Mukilteo Has Regularly Been Voted Among the Best Communities to Live in the United States
The shooting occurred in the Chennault neighborhood in Mukilteo. The town has a population of around 20,000. Online records show that the last murder in the town was in 2003.
While in 2009 and 2011, Mukilteo was named by Money Magazine was one of the Top 10 small towns in America to live in.