Fairwood Man Arrested, Suspected Of Pulling Gun On Mural Artists

RENTON, WA — Renton police arrested a 49-year-old Fairwood man Wednesday, suspected of repeatedly targeting and harassing artists painting a mural in the Cascade neighborhood. According to a news release published Thursday, a group of artists reported a man on Sept. 29 after he stopped his car in the middle of Southeast Petrovitsky Boulevard, raised a pistol, racked the slide and yelled "all lives matter" at them.

Officials said the mural was commissioned by the city to help build community identity in Cascade and Benson Hills.

The group told police they had encountered the same man at least twice before, and that he yelled the same phrase and drove away.

On Oct. 9, a Renton officer managing traffic for the mural project saw a different car stop near a female artist and say something that appeared to be threatening, police said. The officer pulled the car over and learned the man inside had yelled expletives are her several times. Police do not believe the two incidents were related.

Four days later, someone vandalized with the words, "Trump," "LAM" and "BOO," the department said. A security camera captured footage of someone at the mural but the video quality was too poor to make out anything identifying. Detectives searched local law enforcement databases and discovered the King County Sheriff's Office had also investigated a vandalism report where the letters "LAM" were painted on the window of a Fairwood pet store.

After reviewing evidence from that case, police said they uncovered additional information that led them to the Fairwood man suspected of pulling a gun on the artists in late September. Police arrested the suspect at his home on Wednesday on suspicion of harassment and malicious mischief.