UPDATE | WSP: Eagle Harbor gunman was killed by multiple gunshot wounds

By Brian Kelly • July 20, 2017 11:30 am
Dinah Satterwhite photo King County Sheriff’s Department’s Guardian One helicopter shines a spotlight on the sailboat owned by a Seattle man after he began firing from the boat at the shoreline of Eagle Harbor.
Dinah Satterwhite photo King County Sheriff’s Department’s Guardian One helicopter shines a spotlight on the sailboat owned by a Seattle man after he began firing from the boat at the shoreline of Eagle Harbor.

The gunman shot by police after he fired randomly at waterfront homes and the shoreline along Eagle Harbor on July 8 died of gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen, the Washington State Patrol announced Thursday.

The police shooting is currently under investigation by the Washington State Patrol Criminal Investigative Division.

The Washington State Patrol said Robert D. Yeiser, 34, of Seattle was shot as members of the Kitsap County Regional SWAT team approached the sailboat he was shooting from during an attempt to get him to surrender.

Police and witnesses said earlier that Yeiser was shot after he pointed a rifle at police who were approaching his sailboat.

WSP did not detail Thursday how many times Yeiser was struck by police bullets.

The cause of death was determined by the Kitsap County coroner.

Authorities also said the police boats that tried to take Yeiser into custody before he was killed were manned by six officers from the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, along with an officer from the Bainbridge Island Police Department and another from the Bremerton Police Department.

The State Patrol said that all of the officers have been placed on paid administrative assignment, which is a standard procedure in the use of deadly force.

Police also gave an estimate of the number of times Yeiser took random shots at the shoreline before he was shot at about 1 a.m. Sunday, July 9.

Detectives believe Yeiser shot up to 200 times before the shooting incident ended.