Yakima police officers responded to a call of shots fired in the area of the 1300 block of South 18th Avenue around 12:40 am Sunday. Shortly after arriving in the area, officers heard an additional 10-15 gunshots coming from a nearby apartment complex.
Police quickly flooded the area and saw a 40-year-old man running from the scene. The man was detained while officers searched the nearby apartment building. Inside an apartment in the building, officers found a 74-year-old woman who had died after having been shot several times.
Major crimes detectives from the Yakima Police Department Criminal Investigations Division were sent to the scene, where they collected several firearms and additional evidence inside the apartment.
The suspect was booked into the Yakima County Jail on charges of Murder in the First Degree and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm in the 2nd Degree. His name is not being released pending a probable cause determination by a judge.
The name of the victim is being withheld pending next of kin notification.