Attempted murder charges for man accused of shooting at police, carjacking

A 33-year-old man is accused of shooting at officers in Bremerton after wrecking his car in a chase Sunday, carjacking another car at gunpoint and holing up in a house, shooting at officers during a standoff before the house caught fire, fleeing in another car and then crashing.

David Alexander Knox, who was released from prison in June 2021 for gun and other crimes, was being sought by police for allegedly attacking and beating his girlfriend at the Port Orchard Walmart on Friday, leaving her injured.

On Monday, prosecutors charged Knox with eight felonies, including two counts of attempted second-degree murder for allegedly shooting at two police officers and two counts of first-degree robbery. Knox did not appear in court Monday and did not enter a plea, with jail staff reporting he was “unfit for court.”

Kitsap County sheriff's deputies fired at Knox near the conclusion of the Sunday incident. Though he was not shot, the Washington State Patrol is investigating the use of force.

“The number of officers involved and number of shots fired remains under investigation at this time,” a State Patrol sergeant reported in a statement Monday.

The incident Sunday started when a Bremerton police officer spotted Knox at about 1:52 p.m. driving near Third Avenue and Union Avenue in West Bremerton. The officer reported Knox passed through an intersection without stopping and drove on the road shoulder to avoid him, according to court documents.

At that time, officers wanted to arrest Knox for Friday’s incident at Walmart. Knox’s girlfriend told investigators that Knox assaulted her after accusing her of stealing $50 from him.

Security video from the store, reviewed by Port Orchard police officers, showed Knox repeatedly assaulting the woman, and at one point, he appeared to kick her in the face after he shoved her to the ground, according to court documents.

When asked why he fled the Bremerton officer, Knox said he didn’t want to return to prison, as “he assumed his girlfriend had lied about him and he was now wanted by police,” according to court documents

After fleeing the first Bremerton officer, a second officer spotted Knox at about 2:11 p.m. driving onto Highway 3 north from Loxie Eagans Boulevard. A third officer spotted Knox’s car on the highway and started pursuing him.

Knox then left the highway at the Austin Drive exit and crashed his vehicle in the median. He was seen exiting the vehicle with a rifle – described later as an AK-47-style rifle. An officer wrote he saw Knox point the rifle in his direction and heard it fire. This accounts for one of the attempted second-degree murder charges.

Later, Knox told officers that he obtained the AK-47 style rifle from a family member, though he said “he preferred an AR-style rifle,” according to investigators who interviewed him. Knox has previous felony convictions, including drive-by shooting and first-degree robbery, which prohibit him from possessing firearms.

Knox was then accused of stopping an unrelated vehicle with three people inside, demanding everyone exit, firing a round into the air, pointing it at a woman inside who didn't immediately exit and then stealing the car.

The woman’s phone, which had a tracking app installed, was left in the vehicle, which allowed officers to follow the stolen car to a residence on the 5600 block of Harlow Drive.

Knox would later deny stealing the car in the interview with detectives, claiming he was given a ride to the Harlow Drive residence.

Officers from other agencies began arriving at the Harlow Drive residence and people inside began exiting.

While outside, officers heard gunfire and believed Knox was inside firing at officers.

“Through radio traffic I also heard David had come to the door to yell at officers, had leaned out of windows to yell at officers and made statements he was going to die,” a Bremerton detective wrote in court documents.

Knox later said he fired at police because he thought they fired at him first, and during the standoff, he denied shooting at any officer specifically.

“David said he was firing rounds from his rifle because he thought this would make the police leave,” a detective wrote in court documents.

After hearing more volleys of gunfire, officers observed smoke coming from the residence and assumed Knox had lit the house on fire. About two hours later it would become fully engulfed in flames.

Knox later told an investigator that he had turned “something on” inside the residence and forgot about it, which led to the fire, according to documents.

At about 6:30 p.m., as the house burned, Knox was able to exit and get into another vehicle, according to court documents. Knox drove down Harlow Drive before turning east on Price Road then drove into a dead end and wrecked the vehicle.

During this chase, Knox again fired at officers, and Kitsap County sheriff’s deputies had fired at him, according to court documents.

One deputy reported his vehicle had been struck by gunfire, “Showing that David had taken aim at deputies with his firearm,” a detective wrote in court documents. This accounts for the second charge of attempted second-degree murder.

During the interview, Knox began showing signs of impairment and was taken to the hospital for treatment after he told investigators he had taken “several” Xanax pills that day.

Knox was released from prison on June 7, 2021, after serving a 48-month sentence for felony hit and run along with a count of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. He had been sought by police for fleeing the scene after crashing into several cars in downtown Bremerton in March 2018.

The 2018 incident occurred 38 days after Knox had been released from prison for first-degree theft and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

For alleged crimes since Friday, prosecutors charged Knox with two counts of attempted second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of second-degree assault, first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle.

Knox is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Attempted murder charges for man accused of shooting at police, carjacking