Traffic stop near Clearview leads to exchange of gunfire with trooper

CLEARVIEW Wash. — A Washington State Patrol trooper shot and injured a man on State Route 9 near 180th Street Southeast near Clearview in Snohomish County on Monday night.

KIRO 7 found out that a trooper made a routine traffic stop at around 8:30 p.m., but it went south from there, resulting in shots being fired.

KIRO 7′s Bridget Chavez was told by a trooper at the scene that the suspect with a shotgun fired at a trooper and the trooper returned fire, injuring the driver. The trooper was not hurt.

Troopers said despite being shot, the suspect barricaded himself inside his car and refused to cooperate with police. The suspect was bleeding and conscious. It’s unclear how severe his injuries were or why he was pulled over.

SWAT officers were called to the scene in an attempt to get the man to surrender.

The investigation was still underway until mid-morning on Tuesday. Highway 9 remained closed between 176th Street Southeast and 180th Street Southeast until 9:30 a.m., when it reopened in both directions.

All law enforcement agencies left the scene 13 hours after the shooting took place.

KIRO 7 is working to find out the condition of the suspect.

A trooper told KIRO 7 News the investigation was being handled by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team (SMART).

However, a spokesperson with SMART said the case is being held by the Valley Independent Investigations Team, a group of multiple departments responsible for investigating officer involved shootings in south King County. They did not know which specific agency in the team was handling the case.

The Renton Police Department said they are part of the investigation, but didn’t provide further details.

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