A beloved Seattle mother and her unborn child were killed this week when a man with a history of mental health struggles randomly shot them, The Seattle Times reports.
The tragic incident happened just after 11 a.m. Tuesday at the corner of Lenora Street and Fourth Avenue in the city’s Belltown neighborhood.
Authorities identified the deceased victims as 34-year-old Eina Kwon and her unborn daughter of eight months. The woman’s husband, 37-year-old Sung Kwon, was shot multiple times but survived. The couple owns Aburiya Bento House, a restaurant near the scene.
Investigators say 30-year-old Cordell Goosby was walking north along Fourth Avenue when he began running toward a white Tesla with a gun in his hand. He then fired multiple shots into the car until there were no more bullets, according to security camera footage.
The Kwons were in the Tesla, with Eina in the passenger seat and Sung driving. The couple also have a surviving 2-year-old son, NBC News reports; it was not immediately clear whether he was in the vehicle at the time of the shooting.
“It was evident from this video that there was no interaction between the suspect and the victims’ vehicle prior to the shooting,” a detective wrote in court documents, according to The Chronicle.
Prosecutors have charged Goosby with first-degree murder for the death of Eina and first-degree assault for wounding Sung, who was shot repeatedly in the arm. Authorities as of Friday were working to determine whether they can charge Goosby with murder for the death of the couple’s baby, who died following an emergency delivery in a local hospital.
A murder charge in Washington state requires the victim to have been “born alive,” according to a state appeals court ruling.
Goosby is being held on $10 million bail, Fox 13 reports. Records show he has an outstanding warrant for domestic battery in Indiana and felony convictions in the Chicago area on drugs and weapons charges.
In an interview with investigators, Goosby alleged that people were harassing and spreading rumors about him. He reportedly talked to the room’s walls and ceiling and alleged that people in another vehicle told him that the occupants of the white car “were out to get him,” according to The Chronicle, citing court documents.
“No second car could be seen pulling up in the way described by him,” the court records further state, according to The Chronicle.
Goosby reportedly told police he has a history of mental health treatment and authorities believe that he was “in some form of crisis” at the time of the shooting, although investigators noted that it was difficult to discern whether this was “genuine or knowingly performed,” the court documents state.
In the days since the tragedy, community members have laid flowers and other items at the couple’s restaurant as a memorial. The deaths also have prompted calls on police and government officials to do more about crime in the neighborhood.
Tom Graff of the group Belltown United said the deaths could have been prevented.
“This is a line way too far,” Graff told KOMO-TV. “She is gunned down by a man with a very full record and should not have been on the streets. Certainly should not have had a gun. We need to stop this idea that anything is OK because it has led to her death.”
“I feel incredibly sad for this family. You can deal drugs anywhere on our streets. You can camp out anywhere on our streets and it’s OK. It has led to this event. A pure execution of a wonderful small business owner, who was a great community member, who could not have been a sweeter person.”
Michael Hoyle, who co-owns a business next door to the Kwon’s sushi restaurant, said Sung would be remembered as a friend who cared about others and her community.
“She was just an incredible human being, selfless, works every day,” Hoyle told KING-TV. “She’s been the most selfless, loving person every time we walked by, she’s always coming out here at the same time every morning to put out her sign just like I put out my sign. I’m still kind of in a shell shock. It’s that’s the only word I can use. It’s just, it’s devastating.”
A GoFundMe account is raising money for the family.
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[Feature Photo: Eina and Sung Kwon/Facebook]
