Man charged with murder after allegedly shooting teen seven times near Renton Big 5 Sporting Goods

King County prosecutors on Monday charged Aaron Brown Myers, 51, of Redmond, with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of a 17-year-old boy outside a Renton sporting goods store last week last.

Officials say Myers shot the boy, identified in court documents only as HR, seven times following a confrontation in the parking lot of the Big 5 Sporting Goods store on Grady Way. The boy, who his friends said was trying to return a faulty airsoft gun to the store, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Myers also faces a second-degree assault charge in connection with his alleged attempt to apprehend another teen during the confrontation, which was captured on surveillance video.

Myers approached the boys after seeing an airsoft gun in the pocket and assuming they intended to commit an armed robbery, “despite the fact that he is not a member of law enforcement and was therefore not trained in how to safely prevent crime,” according to the billing documents.

The teens obeyed Myers' orders, “raising his hands in the air and placing the airsoft gun he had seen on the ground, and telling him it was just a 'BB gun,'” the teens wrote. prosecutors.

Myers had tackled a boy, identified in documents as BA, to the ground. At one point, HR tried to back away from the confrontation, hands still in the air. That's when officials say Myers fired several shots at HR, hitting him once in the side and six times in the back.

Myers told police he “shot [his] firearm, striking HR,” according to court documents.

“Rather than call 911 or wait for any evidence to confirm or deny his hypothesis, he claimed he had a 'duty to intervene,' and he did so. The defendant is exited his vehicle and pointed his own firearm at the three juveniles, and quickly approached them,” court records state.

Myers was arrested by officers at the scene.

Court records indicate several law enforcement officers saw and heard portions of the confrontation that led to HR's death. It's unclear from court records whether they attempted to intervene before the shooting.

Prosecutors set Myers' bail at $2 million, citing “the likelihood that the defendant will fail to appear in response to a summons and may commit a violent crime.”

Court documents also reference an incident in March 2022, in which Myers “followed a person carrying a metal object he believed to be a gun from one store, through another store and away from the second store, all because he might need to “intervene” and he “may have to shoot” the person. » In this case, law enforcement intervened before anyone was injured.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.