A man who drove his car into a crowd of protesters before shooting one of them in Seattle is claiming that he acted out of fear for his life.
According to the probable cause statement, Nikolas Fernandez told police that he thought he could get through a crowd of protesters — which officers estimated to be “in excess of 1,000 people” — on Pine Street in Seattle. He said that as he was driving, protesters surrounded the car and started kicking it.
A man drove through 11th and hit a barricade. He exited his car and flashed a gun. The police say they have the man in custody and have the gun. They asked for anybody who is hurt to come to the barricade. A man was on the ground on 11th and Pine. He’s up now. pic.twitter.com/47eZZOvG59
— Chase Burns (@chaseburnsy) June 8, 2020
When one man reached through his window and grabbed his steering wheel, Fernandez grabbed for his unholstered gun on the passenger seat and shot him, according to the statement of probable cause. He said that his car stalled then, so he ran out to the police line where he surrendered himself. He told police that his brother works at the precinct, and that he didn’t want to “shame” him.
“I just had to shoot somebody, they tried to jack my car!” he yelled, according to police.
@johnmitch live stream of the moment the shooter at the Seattle protest today was arrested.#seattleprotest pic.twitter.com/N8j9xyglYm
— Jeff LaPlante (@jefflaplante) June 8, 2020
Daniel Gregory, the gunshot victim, had a different story to tell a detective while recuperating at Harborview Medical Center. There, per the probable cause statement, he was being treated for a gunshot to his upper right arm.
He told police that he watched Fernandez’s car whip around the corner, estimating that his driving was “insane” at 40 or 50 miles per hour towards the crowd of protesters. Gregory said that he dropped his hotdog and reached into the window to try to veer the car away from the protesters. When he realized that he might harm people by swinging the car in another direction, he told police that he punched Fernandez in the face instead. Fernandez shot him soon after.
Story unclear at the moment but young man shot on 11th and Pine. Daniel, 26, wanted to tell his story. With the help of other medics I got a tourniquet on his arm. Street medics were on the spot with gauze and pressure. He walked off the scene. pic.twitter.com/g9Ism58YkF
— Alex Garland (@AGarlandPhoto) June 8, 2020
On Monday, after Fernandez’s first court appearance, a judge found probable cause for holding him. King County prosecutors told the Seattle Times that Fernandez’s bail is set at $150,000. Charges are expected to be announced Wednesday.
Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best expressed skepticism Monday, when addressing Fernandez’s claims of mortal peril on MSNBC.
“There were a lot of people out there, it is very difficult to say that this person didn’t see the large crowd of people — literally in the thousands — when he drove his vehicle straight into that crowd,” Best said. “There did not appear to be any mechanical issues with the vehicle and then once stopped, the suspect pulled out a gun and fired at the victims.”
“So, again,” she added, “I haven’t personally interviewed him, but it would not appear this was random or accidental.”
