The man fatally shot Feb. 16 in Kent after a struggle on a King County Metro bus has been identified as Xavion A. Rayford.
Rayford, 29, died from a gunshot wound of the abdomen, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office Feb. 23 report.
Officers responded at about 1 p.m. Feb. 16 to a 911 call about a shooting that had occurred on a Metro bus while it was traveling through Kent, according to a Feb. 16 Kent Police news release. The bus had stopped in the 200 block of Central Avenue South.
Officers found Rayford, who had exited the bus with a gunshot wound. Officers and Puget Sound Fire personnel proceeded with lifesaving efforts, but Rayford died at the scene, according to police.
Rayford had reportedly attacked a 35-year-old man on the bus. The man suffered minor injuries and cuts and bruises to his face.
Rayford got on the bus at an unknown location, according to Kent Police Chief Rafael Padilla in his Public Safety Report Feb. 20 to the City Council. He went to the back of the bus, confronted the victim and physically assaulted him by hitting him in the head until he nearly passed out, Padilla said.
“The man pulled out his handgun and shot one time,” Padilla said.
No information was released about why Rayford attacked the man.
The man was lawfully allowed to be in possession of the firearm, Padilla said. King County prosecutors reviewed the case and decided no charges would be filed against the man.
“It’s an unfortunate situation,” Padilla said. “But under the law it’s defined as self-defense.”
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