Washington Police Officer Shoots And Kills Man Holding Toy Gun While Sitting In His Own Car

Kate Prengaman yakimaherald.com YAKIMA, Wash. — Yakima police say the man shot and killed by an officer early Saturday at a Nob Hill Boulevard car wash was holding a replica handgun in his hand. In the first significant release of information since the shooting, police said Monday that an officer fired four shots at 23-year-old Rocendo Arias of Selah, who was holding a replica capable of firing soft plastic pellets. Arias was struck once and died of a single gunshot wound to the head, according to the Yakima County Coroner’s Office. Department spokesman Capt. Rod Light said Casey Gilette, 29, was on a routine patrol about 3 a.m. when he noticed a vehicle had been parked at Classic Auto Wash, 907 E. Nob Hill Blvd., for more than an hour. Light said that based on a preliminary investigation, Gilette approached the vehicle and opened the passenger-side door. He saw a man in the driver’s seat with what appeared to be a handgun and his finger on the trigger. He then fired, Light said. “Once investigators got on the scene, it was later determined that the handgun was a replica of an actual firearm,” Light said. to read more: yakimaherald.com