Police spoke to I-5 mass shooting suspect hours before spree

I-5 mass shooting suspect sought medical help before spree

The man who admitted to a spree of random shootings along I-5 on Monday night now faces felony charges.

SEATTLE - The man who admitted to a spree of random shootings along I-5 on Monday night now faces felony charges.

The King County Prosecutor's Office charged 44-year-old Eric Perkins with five counts of first-degree assault with a firearm, stemming from a random shooting spree along the I-5 corridor Monday night that stretched through Pierce, King and Snohomish counties.

Perkins admitted to the shootings to investigators, saying he had recently lost his housing and was in Tacoma General Hospital for evaluation a day before the violence.

Perkins told police he believed people were "coming after him," and his friend gave him a gun to protect himself. Instead, prosecutors argue that Perkins went on a tear and indiscriminately fired at several people. Court documents show at least a half-dozen people were hit by gunfire, some of them suffering critical injuries.

Bodycam video from the Fircrest Police Department shows Perkins speaking with officers just six hours before the shooting.

The footage shows Perkins reporting that people are following him, and that he recently got rid of his cell phone.

Police spoke to I-5 mass shooting suspect hours before spree

Police bodycam video shows the suspect in an I-5 shooting spree talking with police about people following him hours before firing at multiple people on the freeway.

Fircrest Police Chief Ron Shobb tells FOX 13 Seattle that his officers determined Perkins was not in crisis or immediate danger. They worked to get him in touch with Tacoma Police, which is where Perkins reported the stalking was happening.

According to court records, Washington State Patrol is still getting reports from people who are just now discovering their cars were hit by gunfire in relation to the incident.

Perkins does not have a criminal record in Washington, but has several convictions in California dating back to 2005, including false checks, burglary and forgery.

Prosecutors have asked for Perkins to be held on $1 million bail.

RAW: Bodycam video shows I-5 mass shooting suspect hours before spree

Bodycam obtained by FOX 13 Seattle shows Eric Perkins — the man accused of a random shooting spree — hours before the incident, where he appears to seek out help from the Fircrest Police Department , after being turned away by Tacoma Police.