Man charged after shots fired, SWAT standoff in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges Thursday against a man who fired shots from the balcony of his Capitol Hill apartment building on Saturday.

Nile P. Wenzlick has been charged with second-degree assault, first-degree malicious mischief, and unlawful discharge of a firearm for shooting off of his balcony on April 23.

Just after 5:40 p.m. on April 23, multiple 911 calls were made reporting a person shooting a gun from the fourth floor balcony of an apartment complex in the 1000 block of East John Street.

According to court documents, Wenzlick “terrorized” residents of the aparment complex when he fired his weapon and struck two other units, causing significant damage.

Wenzlick then knocked on another resident’s door and pointed the gun at the person who answered. Court documents say the victim was “absolutely terrified” to have the gun pointed at him after having heard gunshots outside his unit.

The Seattle Police Department’s SWAT team had to negotiate with Wenzlick for an extended time to get him to come out of his apartment.

Charging documents state that Wenzlick had a gun and multiple types of ammunition.

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