Renton Police: 'Victim' Faked Shooting Report After Accidentally Shooting Self

An early morning turned out to be a tall tale.

“When the Officers responded to this call, they discovered that the victim had fabricated an assault to cover a self-inflicted accidental gunshot,” said Detective Robert Onishi.

Renton Police initially responded to a 9-1-1 call for a shooting in the 600 block of Rainier Avenue just before 5 a.m. Upon arrival, they found a group of about four men in their early 30s gathered outside the IHOP restaurant, including one man with a gunshot wound to the leg.

The man reported he was the victim of a shooting, and said he was approached by a few guys in the parking lot who shot him in the leg, “for no reason.”

Medics treated the man at the scene and then transported him to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for further care. 

After talking with the other men at the scene, police investigators began to doubt the “shooting” allegation. The victim‘s initial story didn’t jibe with the other reports of those at the scene. One man allowed the investigating officers to search his nearby apartment on Shattuck Avenue South where the group had been drinking before the incident.

Officers found a gun on the floor of the apartment, large amounts of blood, a spent bullet casing in the bathtub and bleach that was apparently used to clean up the mess.

Further interviews and evidence at the scene appear to indicate that the shooting was self-inflicted, and accidental, according to the Renton Police Department. Police are still considering which charges will be filed against this morning "shooting" victim.

This incident appears to have no ties to the  or for Richardson.