SEATTLE - Weapons and bomb-making materials were found in the Tukwila apartment where a suspect in the murder of Officer Tim Brenton lives.
At a news conference Saturday, Seattle Assistant Police Chief Jim Pugel identified 41-year-old Christopher Monfort as the man shot by police on Friday as he was sought in connection with the killing of Officer Timothy Brenton.
Pugel said two long rifles, including an assault rifle, along with handguns and improvised explosive devices, were found in Monfort's apartment. Police also found printed articles about the shooting and bombings.
Also found was evidence that could be connected to a threatening note left at the scene of the Oct. 22 bombing and arson at a Seattle maintenance yard.
Pugel said at this point, there is no indication that the suspect is connected to anyone else.
"This man, from everything that we can tell, appears to be a lone, domestic terrrorist," he said.
The Tukwila apartment building remains cordoned off as the investigation continues.
Pugel said there is a key piece of evidence that is still being analyzed.
"There was one piece of evidence that led us to believe that maybe this was planned - it wasn't identical but resembled something else that was found at the Charles Street scene," he said.
Monfort is a graduate of the University of Washington, with a degree in Criminal Justice who mentored at risk teens.
Monfort is now under police guard at Harborview Medical Center, where he underwent surgery and is listed in serious condition.
It was an intense and dramatic unfolding of events on Friday. It began with thousands of people gathering together at KeyArena to honor Officer Brenton, who was shot and killed on Halloween night while sitting in his patrol car.
At the same time, Seattle SWAT team members surrounded a Tukwila apartment complex after receiving a credible tip from a neighbor.
"They talked to some of the people who live in the apartments and those persons said since the shooting or soon after the shooting the person who owned the car had covered it," said Pugel.
Police found a white Datsun 210 draped in a tarp and parked in the complex. Eventually, the man they were waiting for came out.
"The suspect tried to flee but he was boxed in and produced a weapon," said Mike Murphy of Tukwila Police.
Three SWAT members opened fire; one round hit the suspect in the face.
The Seattle Times says Montfort had been recently laid off as a security guard.
The Seattle Police Dept. is looking through their database to see if Monfort ever applied to be a police officer.
Pugel said the Seattle Police Dept. is still seeking information from the public about the crime.
"If you know of this person, have met him, know anything about him, please call and we will follow up on that information," said Pugel.
You can call Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 800-222-TIPS to report any tips anonymously.
The Seattle Police tipline is 206-233-5000.
topproducer said on November 7, 2009 at 10:53 AM
While I respect and appreciate all our law enforsement officers do for us, how does only one of three highly trained SWAT offers actually 'hit' the suspect when opening-fire on him??? Looks like they need to head-back to the firing range for practice!
rakhan said on November 7, 2009 at 11:38 AM
Is it at all possible that the Police instigated this event? Maybe the man felt a sense of immediate danger and shot the cop. I'm sorry, I don't' think all cops are the "Good Guy". Sometimes they just have a hard-on for killing/action so it's easy to see how one could feel completely unsafe when encountering certain cops. Obviously, many of you are unfamiliar with Police-harassment, but your fear perpetuates them and it is very real and very much a part of our local landscape. The guy accused, as demonized as he is by all of you at the News for killing a cop, seems all and all like a smart, reasonable person. Maybe it was his life or the cops? As much sympathy as I have for anyone who's been hurt or a victim of violence, it's not a new thing for the cops in our area to go overboard and I think it's a bit one-sided for us to jump to the conclusion that he provoked the cop. The cops aren't always the good guy and not all the good ones are always on the right side.
cloudsofsmoke said on November 7, 2009 at 11:39 AM
topproducer needs to try to shoot a moving target while taking fire sometime, this isn't hollywood moron, its real life. Great shooting SPD!
kcoffman said on November 7, 2009 at 12:09 PM
Here's a quote by dr. Paul Butler, Monfort's hero... PROFESSOR BUTLER: Yes. You hate to think that violence and insurrection is the only thing that the power brokers understand, but if we think about other kinds of public policy initiatives that have been helpful to people of color, some of them have been achieved by things like violence.
javajunkie76 said on November 7, 2009 at 12:13 PM
As for you Topproducer, yeah there are lots of people like you out there too. You may or may not own a gun but you probably do. You probably go to the range and stand still and shoot stiationary paper targets and you probably look pretty sexy doing it. You probably take that target home and hang it up and you probably have a fascinating with unrealistic action movies as well. You can't understand why the police can't shoot the guy right between the eyes and cause him to fall back ten feet and catch on fire. You never will understand the dynamics of shooting while moving in a stressful situation so please....leave that to the professionals that are there to protect you as well.
ruba61 said on November 7, 2009 at 12:39 PM
ALL THE COPS SHOULD HAVE SHOT HIM IN THE HEAD AND BE DONE WITH THIS LOSER!! NOW HE GETS A TAXPAYER PAID TRIAL EVEN THOUGH THEY KNOW THIS GUY DID IT BEYOND DOUBT. KILL THEM IN THE FIELD AND SPARE THE FAMILY OF A TRIAL AND SAVE THE TAXPAYERS WALLET BEING DRAINED!!!
randolphlsmith said on November 7, 2009 at 1:07 PM
To Seattle SPD Swat: NICE SHOT !
anonymoususer said on November 7, 2009 at 1:37 PM
And yet the muslim terrorist that shot 30 people (killing 13) at Fort. Hood will not be called a terrorist because he is muslim and it is not PC to call muslims terrorists (especially after 911) even though he yelled allah akbar FYI - akbar in Hebrew means mouse so I guess the pig "god" allah is a mouse ???
dacuah said on November 7, 2009 at 1:59 PM
I do beleive that the vehicle was found by doing a search of the DMV registrations. BUT, what gets me is why so many people living in the apartments, could not recognize the shape of the vehicle from the pictures in the news. How many people walked right by, or drove by that draped vehicle and never gave it another thought. As to the three Swat officers who shot the suspect, well, only Swat was allowed at or near the apartment, while less protected officers were held back from the site till it could be cleared. And to hit a moving target without shooting up the apartment complex, and thus perhaps killing an innocent bystander in their apartment, is amazing. Excellent training paid off for these officers to "clear" the danger with few shots fired. They are to be commended. As to perceived danger, well, he had every opportunity to surrender, and I am sure he was notified to come out with hands up, and he would be taken without deadly force. The first move was his...it was a wrong one.
dallascowgirl said on November 7, 2009 at 2:01 PM
um in my world "smart and reasonable" people don't usually keep weapons and bomb making materials in their apartments. but maybe that's just me...
intell said on November 7, 2009 at 2:03 PM
I want to see the car in question uncovered.
dallascowgirl said on November 7, 2009 at 2:04 PM
um in my world "smart and reasonable" people don't usually keep a cache of weapons and bomb-making materials in their apartments. but maybe that's just me....
seattlenative said on November 7, 2009 at 2:25 PM
Please remove anonymoususer's comment; it is abusive.
uplink said on November 7, 2009 at 2:28 PM
If he didn't shoot the Officers, he was still a threat to everyone in that apartment complex. I do believe he did in fact shoot them. I am curious about seeing a list of the weapons found though. To the person wondering why he was only hit once. Go try to hit a dodging target with a hand gun, it ain't as easy as the movies. I have shot for 46 years, have been Army trained and can hit 8" at ten yards, but in a cowboy action match I score about 50%. And guess what? The targets don't point a gun at you.
datruth said on November 7, 2009 at 2:58 PM
Now we have to waste medical on this guy. What a punk
nostonesaboutit said on November 7, 2009 at 3:57 PM
@topproducer, if you actually bothered to pay attention to what you read, you would find that it did not state that only one shooter hit the mark, just that one happened to hit the guy in the head. It's quite possible he was shot multiple times, but the head shot was the most serious.
willietfore said on November 7, 2009 at 4:46 PM
rakhan, maybe you're right, I often feel a sense of immediate danger when I see a cop sitting in his patrol car, doing paperwork!
factoid said on November 7, 2009 at 4:48 PM
"seattlenative": I think you mean offensive. So the question is why? He actually has a very good point. By definition the shooter in Fort Hood is also a terrorist, but no one has called him this. Why?
glasmann said on November 7, 2009 at 4:54 PM
rakhan...you're an idiot
knowitall said on November 7, 2009 at 5:18 PM
SPD, Thank you for getting this man off the streets. God bless the officer's family. May they find peace.
yogibear said on November 7, 2009 at 5:50 PM
rakhan will you have the same opinion when you or someone you know needs the police, the men and women who protect us and keep us safe!
jackwong said on November 7, 2009 at 7:39 PM
@anonymoususer: Now now... Islam is a great religion of peace... Please do not slander them like that.
siusir said on November 7, 2009 at 8:14 PM
haahaa... jackwong is very PC compares to @anonymoususer. I don't know which religion is of "peace" and which isn't. I do notice that in the recent years (or decades) it seems like Islam seems to be the religion of choice for most (if not all) terrorists around the world, from Russia to China to America. Is it something within the religion that draws the interest and believe of the "terrorist minds" ,or is it the religion and its doctrine that tends to produce terrorists/extremists??? However, I do think this case has less to do with religion and more to do with someone feeling rejected by SPD and wanted to take revenge; kind of a "rejected lover" syndrome. If the suspect is guilty of the shooting of officer Brenton, I hope he just die and spare the family of going through, and our citizen of having to pay, for the trial (and the subsequent appeals) plus giving him room & board. May Ofc Brenton rest in peace.
ainz33 said on November 7, 2009 at 8:55 PM
Rakhan, Really? THIS is the situation where you try to defend the suspect based upon police brutality? Either you didnt read or see a single peice of EVIDENCE that has been reported, or you are just delusional. These cops were sitting in their car parked on the side of the road doing paperwork when someone pulled up next to them and opened fire into their car and drove away. This was a cold blooded murder.
thorshammer said on November 8, 2009 at 10:45 AM
I'm glad the suspect survived! If he would have died, there would have been a mountain of unanswered questions. Something set this guy off and we need find out the answer to the biggest question out there...WHY? I hope the questions can be answered and the families involved in this tragedy can find some peace in this horrific event.
anonymoususer said on November 8, 2009 at 10:55 AM
It was a full moon - and bad things happen when the moon is full (as any police officer or emergency room doctors / nurses know)
victimsjustice said on November 8, 2009 at 8:20 PM
Thorshammer - all the answers in the world won't bring Officer Brenton back to his family. The only thing they get from the suspect not getting shot DEAD is a large piece of their future spent sitting in a courtroom reliving the MURDER of their husband, son, brother, likely followed by years and years of appeals, and then likely topped off way in the future with parole dates, etc. It doesn't end for them. The don't get any peace. Unanswered questions? How about this one? "How do we live without Tim?"
truthdector said on November 9, 2009 at 7:48 AM
The fact Obama was voted into office after the voters knew full well that that Obama started his political career in the living room of domestic terrorist cop killer William Ayers should surprise nobody that the White House is filled with radicals who praise Chairman Mau, this is the food that every nut job in America feeds on as their right to jump out the wood work and become of the radical extreme America Hating left who will kill anyone who disagrees with their paradigm.
rebaromb said on November 9, 2009 at 10:39 AM
After reading many of these posts, all I can say is, "Oh...dear...God." Truthdector, ironic that you of all people are describing others who don't share your skewed take on things as "nut jobs." I find it amazing that so many people on this forum are all for Wild West typ justice...right up until the moment they need our justice system and its due process to work for THEM. Very disturbing responses on this wall. Makes me very afraid to think of some of you being on a jury of my "peers."
rebaromb said on November 9, 2009 at 10:43 AM
By the way, anonymoususer: You are a bigot.
truthdector said on November 9, 2009 at 10:46 AM
Furthermore- reboaromb.... It was obvious form the start that the terrorist was as radical Obama supporter who wanted to be the next William Ayers; notice how he even looks like Obama, this is a psychological trigger.
rebaromb said on November 9, 2009 at 11:13 AM
Truthdector, I owe you an apology. I just realized after reading your last post that you've got something going on that deserves some compassion and not more ridicule from people. I hope you have healthcare available to you and that your doctors are taking care of you.
truthdector said on November 9, 2009 at 11:35 AM
Re-Bomb. Live in denial all you want, but you only fool your own kind with such low grade reverse psychology for the express purpose of deceiving those who you perceive as politically persuadable by hiding the true nature of you kind, in ACORN, and kind you voted for in the White House.