A gunman who once plowed his car into a Trump voter registration drive is accused of shooting a wheelchair-bound Washington man in the chest at point-blank range for allegedly stealing valor.
The chaos unfolded in downtown Seattle along the popular Alaskan Way boardwalk on July 31, when the suspected shooter, Gregory Timm, allegedly confronted the 68-year-old about his military service, KOMO News reported, citing charging documents.
Prosecutors allege Timm, 32, demanded to see the victim’s military ID and removed a military patch from the victim’s belongings, moments before the shooting.
This prompted the victim to first unholster what investigators identified as an airsoft gun, according to video obtained by the outlet. At this point, Timm stepped back, reached into his bag, and aimed a real pistol at the victim.
Startled bystanders shrieked as Timms, only feet away, fired one round into the victim’s chest, sending onlookers—including families with children—fleeing for cover.
“It’s alright, everybody!” Timm shouts out as he racks back the pistol.
“Show me your ID!” He yells at the victim with the gun down by his side. “Pull a f–kin’ gun on me!?”
Timms then put his gun back into his bag and shouted at the wounded victim to put his away.
In a second video, the alleged gunman then raised his hands into the air and apologized to startled bystanders for shooting the man.
Timm was arrested by officers at the scene without incident and charged in King County with first-degree assault, a class A felony. He is being held on $750,000 bail.
The victim—a regular on the boardwalk known for playing music and spreading “good vibes”—was rushed to the hospital in serious but stable condition.
According to court documents obtained by KOMO News, just before being shot by Timm, the victim allegedly pulled out a knife and then an airsoft gun.
Timm’s defense attorney argues his client acted in self-defense because the victim pulled a gun on him first.
However, King County prosecutors said Timm was the aggressor in the incident.
“If you’re the one who’s the first aggressor who provokes an altercation, you lose the right to claim self-defense effectively under state law,” spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Casey McNerthney, told King 5.
Timm potentially faces life in prison if convicted of first-degree assault under Washington law.
In 2020, Timm drove his car into a Republican Party voter registration drive at Kernan Village Shopping Center in Jacksonville, Florida, before fleeing, according to King 5.
No one was injured in the incident.
Trimm told police that he “did not like President Trump” when deputies later arrested him at his home.
In court, he explained that he saw his actions in the Florida incident as his “duty.”
“The only reason this administration was getting away with these atrocious crimes is because we were rolling over and taking it,” he said in court, according to King 5.
The incident gained the attention of President Trump, who posted on X at the time to: “Be careful tough guys who you play with!”
Timm was convicted of criminal mischief, a second-degree misdemeanor, in 2021.
McNerthney told King 5 they are evaluating whether they can use that conviction in the current Washington case, but if it is “vacated,” it is no longer considered a conviction.
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