Scott Linville

Scott Linville was a man to whom civic duty mattered deeply, a value instilled in him from a young age. The 49-year-old male, who worked in the restaurant business, grew up attending union meetings with his father, who was the president of the metro bus driver’s union in Seattle. This upbringing fostered a lifelong passion for politics and voting. His family remembered him as someone who always made a point to cast his ballot. He was a grandson, and a son to Carolyn Copley-Casey of Moses Lake and a father who lived in Arizona.

On the morning of Election Day, November 3, 2026, this passion led to a fatal confrontation outside the Spokane Valley Library, which was serving as a polling station. Around 11:30 a.m., Scott engaged in a conversation with two brothers, 22-year-old Gary Miller and 23-year-old Daylen Miller. The discussion reportedly became a heated argument about voting. Daylen Miller later told reporters that Scott threatened to fight them if they did not vote. Following this exchange, Daylen went inside the library. When he came back out, his brother Gary was gone, and Scott was lying unconscious on the sidewalk southwest of the building.

Multiple 911 calls reported a man had been shot in the 10100 block of East Sprague Avenue, near the intersection with Herald Road. Spokane Valley Police and Spokane County Sheriff's deputies arrived to find Scott with several gunshot wounds. First responders performed lifesaving measures, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office would later confirm his death was a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds. His mother said she was told he had been shot four times.

Shortly after the shooting, Gary Miller contacted law enforcement from a location a few blocks away, identified himself as the shooter, and shared his location. Deputies detained him and recovered a firearm. He was taken in for questioning by Major Crimes Detectives. Spokane Valley Police Chief Dave Ellis stated that Miller claimed he had acted in self-defense.

After being interviewed, Gary Miller was released from custody pending further investigation. Chief Ellis explained that investigators were looking into the self-defense claims and would consult with the prosecutor's office about potential charges once their work was complete. The decision to release the suspected shooter shocked and angered Scott's mother. "Are you kidding me? So he’s not even locked up?" Carolyn Copley-Casey said when a reporter informed her. "How could that be? You could pack a gun and shoot someone four times and you are not in jail? Scott didn’t have a weapon. That’s ridiculous."

The identification of Scott was delayed as officials worked to locate his next of kin. His mother, who lives in Moses Lake, received the call confirming her son's death on Thursday, two days after the shooting. She expressed feeling overlooked by investigators, who were also handling another major shooting incident in Spangle that week. "Scott hasn’t been mentioned at all. I feel kind of cheated," she said.

In the wake of his death, Scott's family made plans for his cremation in Spokane. His mother and father, who was traveling from Arizona, planned to come to Spokane to see their son. The investigation into Scott Linville's death remains ongoing as of November 2026, with the man who admitted to the shooting not in custody or facing charges while his self-defense claim is reviewed.