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Deputies from the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office were searching Friday for three armed men who barged into an Everett home early Friday before fatally shooting the woman during the home invasion, authorities said.
Police were called around 3 a.m. to the home in the 2600 block of 96th Street SE in an unincorporated section of Everett.
Authorities said the woman's husband and the couple’s child were able to escape the home but not before the woman, who was on the second floor of the home, was shot in the head.
The man went to the home of a neighbor, who called 911 to report the incident.
Investigators said in a written statement that the three male suspects suspects were all wearing all black clothes and face coverings during the home invasion.
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office tells us there have been three other home invasions in the area but not the specific neighborhood. None of these crimes are connected at this point.
We were told the husband did suffer minor injuries.
Courtney O'Keefe, a spokesperson for the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, said a motive for the incident is under investigation.
"It’s too early in the investigation to know yet but detectives are actively investigating and trying to determine if this was a targeted residence or if there was a motive behind those."
O'Keefe said after the man's wife was shot, the husband waited until he heard the intruders leave, then ran to a neighbor, who was able to call police.
Authorities said the husband and the neighbor ran back to the house to get the young child out.
“We don’t believe that he witnessed any of this,” said O’Keefe.
Deputies called a chaplain to the scene to visit with family members and one of them took the young boy away from the investigation.
“A murder right here, I mean come on," one neighbor said. "That’s not OK with a child in the house."
While this may be the third home invasion in this area, O’Keefe said it was the first where people were inside the house at the time of the intrusion.