Police in Auburn, Washington, are looking for a suspect in an Aug. 23 car bombing at a city-owned cemetery.
The Auburn Police Department on Monday posted photos of a vehicle it said was seen fleeing the cemetery after the blast.
“On August 23rd, while a funeral occurred at Mountain View Cemetery, the passenger of the pictured vehicle placed an explosive device in an attendee’s car. The explosive device created an immense fire destroying the victim’s vehicle and surrounding trees,” Auburn police posted on Facebook.
“City of Auburn employees followed the suspect’s vehicle as it fled the area. The suspect vehicle’s passenger then shot several rounds at the employees as they followed,” the post said.
“The vehicle was described as a black Acura RL, with no license plates. The suspect was described as a tall male and was wearing a full black ski mask,” the police post said.
?Do you recognize this vehicle??
LINK: https://t.co/JCQppwr7O4 pic.twitter.com/AxpIELxB2G
— Auburn WA Police Dept (@AuburnWAPolice) September 12, 2022
KIRO-TV in nearby Seattle interviewed a man who said he was an employee of the city. It cited the man’s safety in withholding his name.
The man told the station that 60 to 80 people were gathered during the funeral when an object was thrown inside a parked car.
“They saw a guy run up to the window and break it,” the employee said. “Then, not even 30 seconds later, the car exploded.”
The car destroyed was a black Lexus, he said.
After returning to a vehicle, the man waited until the Lexus exploded, the employee said.
“And my lead over the radio said, ‘Get the license plate number of that black car!’” he said.
The man said that he and another co-worker chased the car for a short distance outside of the cemetery.
“The guy popped out of the window and fired four or five shots at me and my co-worker,” he said. “We just ducked, put it in reverse, and got back here.”
A car bomb explodes during a funeral!!
People at Mountain View Cemetery say suspect broke the car window & threw something in. It exploded & he sped away. Employees tried to follow & he shot at them.@AuburnWAPolice shared pic 4 of the suspect’s car. Asking for your help to ID! pic.twitter.com/E1WrwTJrKG
— Deedee Sun (@DeedeeKIRO7) September 13, 2022
Kolby Crossley, a representative of the Auburn Police Department, called the car bombing “a very unusual situation. It’s one we really want to figure out.”
“The passenger was the one who threw the explosive device, and the passenger was also the one who shot the rounds. But there was also someone who was driving him,” he said, according to KIRO.
“It caused a serious fire. And all things considered, we’re pretty thankful no one was hurt, because this could’ve been 10 times worse than what it was,” Crossley said, adding that detectives are investigating a possible motive for the incident.
