Police looking for possible witness to Pasco’s deadly stabbing
Investigators are asking for help finding a man seen walking away from Sunday’s fatal stabbing and a deadly officer-involved shooting.
The possible witness was seen on a police car dash camera at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Lewis Street.
He was wearing a red, white and blue shirt with FILA written on it, and has dark hair, according to pictures released Wednesday by police.
Commander Randy Maynard with the Regional Special Investigations Unit asked the public identifying the man.
Anyone with information on the witness or on Sunday’s stabbing and shooting can contact Richland Sgt. Damon Jansen at djansen@ci.richland.wa.us or 509-942-7353; Benton County Sheriff’s Sgt. Carlos Trevino at carlos.trevino@co.benton.wa.us or 509-735-6555; or Franklin County Sheriff’s Sgt. Marcus Conner at mconner@co.franklin.wa.us or 509-545-3501.
Pasco police were called to the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Lewis Street at 11:40 a.m. Sunday after people in the area reported seeing Gabriel T. Artz, 30, fighting with another man.
By the time Officers Jasen McClintock and Jeremy Jones arrived along with an unnamed third officer, Artz had reportedly stabbed the other man and still had the knife.
The unnamed officer went to help the stabbing victim, who was still alive but died soon after. His name has yet to be released because officials are having trouble finding his family.
The other two officers approached Artz. The officers talked to him in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, but he continued to advance toward the officers, said police.
One or both of the officers shot Artz after he “appeared to initiate an attack attempt on the officers,” Maynard said in an earlier news release.
He was pronounced dead when he arrived by ambulance at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland.
Police Chief Ken Roske in coordination with Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant asked the Regional Special Investigations Unit to handle both the stabbing and shooting investigations.
The unit draws detectives from area agencies to investigate officer-involved shootings in Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties.
Artz had a history of mental health issues and attacking officers, and he’d served time in prison in recent years for assault.
This story was originally published March 16, 2022 at 4:10 PM.