A police officer was gunned down during a fight in a Starbucks parking lot in Washington state on Friday afternoon, authorities said.
The deceased cop was identified as 41-year-old Everett Police Department Officer Dan Rocha, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
Officials said a man believed to be in his 50s fired several shots at Rocha after the two got into a confrontation.
The suspect fled the scene in a blue Mini Cooper and was pursued by Everett Police, cops said.
The chase ended in a multi-vehicle crash about 2.5 miles away from the Starbucks. The suspect was hospitalized in unknown condition.
Everett Community College — located across the street from the scene of the shooting — was briefly placed on lockdown as police responded to a “death at the Starbucks,” according to school officials. The college is currently on spring break and no classes were in session at the time.
A witness told The Everett Herald he heard shots at around 2:15 p.m. and saw a uniformed officer’s body on the ground in a Starbucks parking lot close to the Everett Community College campus.
George LaBauve said he saw the suspected gunman tuck away his firearm before running over the officer’s body as he fled in a blue Mini Cooper, the newspaper reported.
Deputies from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office were seen covering the downed officer’s body in a sheet in the parking lot around 2:30 p.m., according to the report.
Everett is located about 30 miles north of Seattle.
