The suspect in a shooting that left three people dead in a Yakima, Wash., convenience store early Tuesday morning is believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Law enforcement initiated a SWAT call at a home where the suspect, Jarid Haddock, 21, was suspected of being at, but he was not there at the time. Instead, he was at a local Target store, Yakima Police Chief Matt Murray said.
Police said the suspect borrowed a woman's phone to call his mother, and she overhead him making statements that he killed the three people and was going to kill himself, Murray said.
The woman got her phone back and informed police of what she heard and that he was at a nearby Pizza Hut. The suspect, who was traveling on foot, was later found near a marijuana store.
"I listened to that call," Murray said. "It's pretty harrowing, and I have to really thank her again because she was really courageous in getting us there."
As police approached, they heard gunshots and found Haddock dead. Authorities believe he shot himself, but no one saw him carry out the act.
Police found a large amount of ammunition and a semi-automatic handgun with Haddock, Murray said.
Medical responders attempted to save Haddock's life, but he was pronounced dead on the scene.
Murray released a photo of Haddock from a surveillance video to the public. In a statement on Twitter, Murray urged the public to call 911 if they spotted Haddock and warned people not to approach him.
During an early morning news conference, Murray described the incident as two separate shootings — one at a Circle K convenience store at about 3:30 a.m. and the other across the street — carried out by the same shooter and taking place just minutes apart.
"The first shooting was inside the [Circle K] store. Then he came outside and shot a victim outside the store. And then he went across the street and apparently shot one more person," Murray said.
"It appears to be a random situation," the chief said. "There was no apparent conflict between the parties. The male just walked in and started shooting."
Initially, police believed there may have been a fourth victim at a nearby Arco gas station, but in an update, Murray said Haddock had allegedly shot into his own car several times after locking himself out. The suspect fled in a gray or silver sedan that police believe is a Chrysler 200.
"We're going to have to go through the formal process of identification, but everything that we see and what he said and what happened leads us to believe this is the same person that was involved at these shootings at the Circle K and the Arco gas station this morning," Murray said.
Haddock's family has been cooperative with police and it is unclear if Haddock was ever at his parents' home the day of the shooting, Murray said.
Haddock did have a prior record, Murray said. He was arrested in March 2020 after he ran from police who pulled him over for being in a stolen car, according to The Associated Press.
