Court documents detail terrifying moments during 2 murders in Marysville, Edmonds
SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. - A man has been charged for allegedly committing two separate murders in Marysville and Edmonds within the span of a few hours. At least one of the deadly shootings appears to be completely random.
The rampage began on Aug. 10. around 4 a.m. According to court documents, a man had been shot three times at the Lakes Landing Phase II apartments in Marysville. He died in the parking lot.
A witness said he saw the incident and said he heard two gunshots. He looked toward the sound of gunfire and saw the 31-year-old victim lying on the ground, yelling for help, according to court documents. The witness then said he saw 31-year-old Gilbert Escamilla calmly walk up to the victim and shoot him once more, documents said. The witness said he recognized the suspect and that he had hung out with him several hours earlier.
Around 7 a.m., a frantic woman called 911 to report that an armed man had showed up her their Edmonds house and was shooting at/fighting the residents. At least five people were home at the time of the shooting.
A man in the house confronted someone in his backyard around 6:50 a.m., asking "what are you doing here?" according to court documents. It's likely the victim got a notification that someone was outside, since there were surveillance cameras around the property.
Escamilla then allegedly replied "my house" before advancing toward the man and suddenly pulled out a gun. He points it at the man, who is just several feet away, and starts firing, according to surveillance footage described in court documents. The victim ran back into the house.
According to court documents, the shooter got to the back door and fired two more shots in rapid succession into the home using a semi-automatic pistol.
The suspect then walks toward where the family vehicles were parked and gets in, according to court documents, which detail the surveillance video and audio from the incident. He heard a woman screaming loudly from inside the house and said, "stop screaming, b****!"
He then walks to the back door again and runs into another resident in the home, according to documents. Those documents said he asked the resident if she was okay and when she said ‘no,' he allegedly repeated her and then fired a shot at close range.
The woman closes the door and the suspect pointed two pistols into the home from the outside, documents said. Escamilla then "tracked" her inside the home and shot her at least once through the back window, according to court documents.
Escamilla then allegedly went around to the front of the house and reportedly shot three times at a woman who was yelling for help.
The suspect then got into one of the resident's SUVs and took off. The whole incident happened within seven minutes, according to timestamps from the family's surveillance footage.
According to court documents, a man was found in a bedroom with gunshot wounds to the chest, another woman was found in a separate bedroom with an obvious gunshot wound to the head, and a third 68-year-old woman was found dead in the back hallway from a gunshot wound.
Two young children, ages five and seven, were found hiding in a closet.
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According to court documents, Escamilla had allegedly been standing along the edge of the wooded area behind the second victims' home for nearly two hours before the shooting began.
Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies noticed the stolen RAV 4 that was driving erratically and began following it with their sirens and lights on. Escamilla allegedly sped up before eventually driving into some bushes and running off.
Officers were able to catch up with him and take him into custody.
Escamilla has been charged with:
- Two counts of investigation of first-degree murder with a firearm
- Two counts of investigation of first-degree attempted murder with a firearm
- Investigation of first-degree burglary with a firearm
- Two counts of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm
- Theft of a motor vehicle
- Attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle
It's believed Escamilla had no connection to the family in Edmonds. It appears he knew the first victim in Marysville but police have not definitively said.
A judge set bail at $5 million.
"The defendant committed wanton and random acts of violence, killing two people and nearly fatally wounding two more. The defendant is a severe danger to the community and is at risk to commit future violent offenses," prosecutors stated in court documents regarding the $5 million bail.