Court Docs: Uber driver nearly hit suspect before fatal shooting

Edmonds rideshare murder suspect in court

The man who, according to court documents, admitted to police that he shot and killed a rideshare driver in Edmonds appeared in court today. A judge put a $1 million bond on 21-year-old Alex Waggoner.

EDMONDS, Wash. - New court documents reveal what led up to the deadly shooting of a local Uber driver in Edmonds last week.

The EPD says the suspect, identified as 21-year-old Alex M. Waggoner, was nearly hit by Abdikadir Shariif as he was crossing a crosswalk on the southbound lanes of Edmonds Way on the night of January 3. Court documents state Shariif was distracted by his phone, as seen from the interior camera of his vehicle.

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One witness said Waggoner had to quickly move forward to avoid being hit by Shariif's vehicle, and that Waggoner possibly yelled "f**k you" or "f**k" at the driver.

Shariif rolled down his window and appeared to begin to say "sorry" when Waggoner began shooting multiple rounds at him, according to the court documents.

According to police, Waggoner fired 11 rounds at Shariif's car at point-blank range, hitting Shariff multiple times.

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Around the same time witnesses began calling 911, Waggoner was seen frantically running back to his apartment. A Ring doorbell camera captured audio of Waggoner saying, "baby, holy s**t! Let me in right now!" and "did you hear that?," according to court documents.

Police say two loaded pistols were found in Waggoner's possession upon his arrest, and he was also wearing body armor.

During his interview with police, Waggoner admitted he had been drinking that night and was walking to a nearby Safeway to buy more. Waggoner also confessed to shooting the driver after he almost hit him, saying he "grossly overreacted and was sorry for what he did," according to court documents.

Waggoner was transported to the Snohomish County Jail where he was booked for second-degree murder.

Waggoner has been involved in more than 10 different Edmonds PD calls since October 2020. He was arrested once for domestic violence assault in 2020 and the remainder of the reports were verbal domestic disputes or behavorial health calls.

Police said Waggoner fit the description of the suspect, was wearing the same shoes at the time of the shooting, and was known to "fly off the handle at any moment."

Waggoner appeared in court on Thursday at 1 p.m. He is facing a second-degree murder charge. The judge ruled there is probable cause to keep Waggoner behind bars on a $1 million bail.

The family of Shariff were in court.

"He shouldn't have a bail at all," said Abdirahman Shariff.

Abdirahman is the victim's brother. He says the family will be in court every step of the process looking for answers to why their brother was killed.

Outside of court, Abdirahman Shariff addressed documents which say Waggoner claimed he was scared he was going to be hit by Shariff's car.

"You have no right to shoot and kill the person. He {Waggoner} only had two options: whether to call the police or walk away, not aggressively start shooting at him multiple times. That is not an excuse whatsoever," said Abdirahman Shariif.

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