On February 16, 2014, 44-year-old Bret Berlin was fatally shot while seated in a parked car on Camano Island, Washington. A woman accompanying him sustained a gunshot wound to her arm. The assailant, identified as 34-year-old Riley Leif Ottersen, approached the vehicle under the pretense of asking for cigarettes. After receiving a pack, Ottersen unexpectedly drew a firearm and shot Berlin in the head, with the same bullet injuring the woman.
Following the shooting, Ottersen fled the scene, leading law enforcement on a high-speed pursuit from Camano Island to Mukilteo. The chase concluded when Ottersen crashed his vehicle. Upon exiting, he reportedly aimed his firearm at officers, prompting them to open fire. Ottersen was critically injured and transported to a Seattle hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries a few weeks later.
Investigators were unable to determine a clear motive for Ottersen's actions. Although he and the victims had mutual acquaintances, no direct connection was established. Ottersen, known to be a heroin addict, had no significant criminal history in Washington, aside from minor interactions with law enforcement. The surviving victim could not provide insight into the reasons behind the attack.
The incident prompted two separate investigations: one by the Island County Sheriff's Office into the double shooting, and another by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team into the police shooting in Mukilteo. Both investigations concluded without definitive answers regarding Ottersen's motives. Prosecutors later determined that the officers involved in the Mukilteo shooting were legally justified in their use of deadly force.
