Man Charged With Felony In Seattle Protest Shooting

SEATTLE, WA — 31-year-old Nikolas Fernandez is facing a felony assault charge, after prosecutors say he drove a car into a Seattle protest, and shot one of the protesters.

Sunday evening, a peaceful demonstration on Capitol Hill turned chaotic when a car driving up Pine street started rolling through the crowd. Many protesters ran out of the way, but several chased after the car and one was shot by the driver after reaching into the car's window in an apparent attempt to try to slow the vehicle down.

After the shooting, the car stalled and the driver, later identified by police as Fernandez, jumped out, brandished his pistol at other protesters and made for the police barricade on the other side of the demonstration. Officers arrested him shortly afterwards.

The shooting victim, Dan Gregory, was hit in the upper right arm and has been diagnosed with an associated fractured humerus, but is expected to fully recover. A GoFundMe has been set up to pay his medical bills, and has raised more than 231,000 dollars.

At the time of his arrest, Fernandez argued to police he had planned to simply pass through the protest and only shot Gregory because he thought he was being attacked and feared for his life. But prosecutors say, it's more likely that he was the aggressor.

"Although Mr. Fernandez claims to have acted in self-defense, our laws distinguish a person protecting himself from an attack from a person who provoked the attack in the first place," wrote Spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office Casey McNerthney. "Given the evidence uncovered in the past three days, there is probable cause to believe Mr. Fernandez falls in the latter category."

Charging documents also indicate that, as Fernandez drove towards the crowd he wasn't slowing down. The documents read in part:

"As he turned onto 11th avenue, he sped up, heading straight for a crowd of protesters. It is apparent from the reactions of the crowd that the defendant was driving at an excessive speed given the crowd and conditions. As protesters yelled at him to stop, and even put a metal barrier in his path, he continued to drive forward."

The charging documents also note that Fernandez had been armed with a Glock 26 outfitted with an extended magazine, which had a second magazine taped to it.

Prosecutors asked that Fernandez be held on $350,000 bail, but a judge settled on $150,000 after hearing from Fernandez's family. He is currently still being held in the King County Jail, and his arraignment has been scheduled for the morning of June 24.

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