'We are living a nightmare:' Family wants answers after son was shot and killed at the wheel, leading to crash

FIFE, Wash. - UPDATE: A suspect has been identified and was located in Kent. He is believed to have been involved in a shooting with police. No officers were injured, and it's unclear if the suspect was hit. 

What started as the story of a deadly car crash this week in Fife is now being investigated as a murder.

Fife Police Department first reported a 23-year-old man crashing his car at the intersection of 20th Street East and 70th Street East in Fife shortly after 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

According to investigators, Rudolph King III was shot, and that's what led to his crash. 

Now, King's family is pleading to the public for answers in their son's death.

"We keep hoping to wake up and it was a nightmare," said Kristin King, Rudolph King III's mother. "I mean, at this point, it's really hard to imagine living any kind of life without him."

Rudolph King III was known in his family as 'Little Rudy.' His father is Rudy Jr. 

His family says they've felt numb since his sudden death on Tuesday.

"It was just like any other Tuesday night," Rudy Jr., said. "He had a flag football game from Fort Lewis."

King's parents told FOX 13 that they were on the phone with him as he was driving home that night. They had no idea it would be the last conversation they'd have with their only child.

"All of a sudden, it cut off mid-sentence," King's father said "Then we got an SOS ping from his phone. Telling us where he was."

Their son was six minutes from getting home to the place he shares with his fiancé, Sarah Layne. His parents and King's fiancé drove to the crash where police told them wouldn't be transported to the hospital because he died.

Fife Police told King's parents and fiancé the following morning that the man they knew as Little Rudy did not die from a car accident. He was shot and killed. His car traveled several blocks before it stopped.

"Absolute shock," King's mother said.

"Shock and terror," King's father said. "But it made it to where it was safer to understand, he wasn't just speeding, it wasn't just a motor vehicle accident. It was something that actually happened that caused this. A random act of violence."

You can still see where King's car crashed at the intersection in Fife. There are tire marks and debris on the ground. Police said King drove into trees and a fire hydrant. That's what stopped his car.

"He did not run in any circles," King's father said. "Anything bad. He served his country. He worked hard and for him to be taken away from us senselessly."

Right now, Fife Police said this shooting was random. Though, his loved ones want answers.

"They robbed us, they robbed a fiancé, they robbed this country of a soldier," King's father said. "When they took his life, they took a lot."

Little Rudy was just 23 years old. He was engaged to be married, ready to buy a house and move forward with his career in the Army National Guard.

His parents told FOX 13 that their son was a good student and decorated soldier. He was working as the director of human resources for the Homeland Response Force at JBLM. 

"He really touched every single life that he came in contact with," King's mother said. 

"He'll be missed forever," King's father said. "We're broken. And I wouldn't want this to actually happen to anybody. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. It's like I said, we are living a nightmare right now."

If you have any information to report to Fife Police, you can call non-emergency dispatch at 1-800-562-9800. You can also file a report online here.. 

King's family is in the early stages of planning his funeral services. His parents told FOX 13, they hope to set up a scholarship fund in the future in honor of their son's legacy and love for the community. 

Donate to the GoFundMe here.