Three officers are on administrative leave while investigators examine the deadly confrontation outside The Commons mall.
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — An independent investigative team is examining a fatal police shooting outside The Commons mall after Federal Way officers said a man pointed a weapon at them during a response to multiple 911 calls Thursday evening.
The Valley Independent Investigation Team has taken responsibility for investigating the Sept. 10 shooting, separating the criminal fact-finding process from the Federal Way Police Department whose officers used deadly force. Three officers involved in the encounter were placed on administrative leave, according to local reporting. Their placement on leave is standard procedure and is not a finding that any officer acted improperly.
The shooting followed several 911 calls beginning around 6:40 p.m. Callers reported seeing a man carrying a gun and pointing it at people in the parking lot of The Commons, near Pacific Highway South and South 320th Street. Police said one caller reported that the man appeared to be waiting for officers to arrive.
Federal Way officers reached the shopping center and attempted to contact the man. According to the department’s preliminary account, he pointed a weapon at the responding officers. Officers then fired, striking him. Police and medical personnel provided aid, but the man died at the scene. No officers or bystanders were reported injured.
The man’s identity had not been released in the initial reports. Police described him as a white man believed to be in his 20s or 30s. Authorities also had not publicly explained whether the weapon was loaded, whether the man fired it or how many officers discharged their weapons. Those details are among the facts an independent investigation can seek to establish through evidence and witness interviews.
Washington law requires an investigation independent of the involved police agency when an officer’s use of deadly force results in death or specified serious injuries. State rules emphasize independence between the investigative team and the department whose officers were involved. The completed investigation is intended to help authorities determine whether the use of force complied with applicable law and standards.
Under those rules, the involved agency’s role changes after the immediate scene is secured and lifesaving aid is provided. Independent investigators are responsible for the deadly-force inquiry, while the agency employing the officers is kept separate from that criminal investigation. Federal Way police said they would not participate in the investigation of their own officers and would not provide further investigative updates.
A witness who called 911 told KIRO 7 that he and his brother-in-law encountered the armed man while making a delivery at the mall. He said they drove away after realizing the man was pointing a gun toward them. The witness later described hearing gunfire after officers arrived. His account is one piece of the developing record and has not been presented by investigators as a complete account of the shooting.
Investigators have not publicly announced final findings about the officers’ actions or released a complete timeline of the confrontation. The reason the man was at the mall, why he allegedly pointed the weapon at people and what occurred during the final moments before officers fired remain unresolved in the publicly available information.
The Valley Independent Investigation Team is expected to provide future updates as its work continues. Until that review establishes a fuller record, the police description of the confrontation remains a preliminary account rather than a final determination of what occurred.
Author note: Last updated September 13, 2026.