Two suspects arrested following shooting in Walla Walla
By Dan Thesman on Sunday, June 1st, 2025 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
WALLA WALLA – (News release from Walla Walla Police Department) On Friday, May 30, 2025, at 8:09 p.m., Walla Walla Police Department patrol officers responded to reports of gunfire near Chase Avenue and Myrtle Street. Witnesses stated that three males in a vehicle fired multiple shots at a male riding a bicycle, narrowly missing him. Officers responded to the scene, processed evidence, and recovered handgun shell casings.
Later that evening, at 10:19 p.m., officers were dispatched to another shots fired call in the area of South Division Street and Hobson Street. A caller reported hearing yelling followed by a single gunshot and someone screaming. Shortly after, dispatch received a call from a female witness on scene who said she was transporting the victim—a teenaged juvenile male—to the hospital. The victim was found to have suffered a single gunshot wound to the leg.
Through interviews, officers learned that the victim group had encountered the suspect group earlier at a business on Isaacs Avenue. The suspect, identified as a teenage male and ex-boyfriend of the female witness, was seen at the business with friends in a vehicle. After the victim group left, the suspect vehicle followed them. The suspect vehicle matched the description from the earlier shooting at Chase and Myrtle.
Witnesses reported that the suspect group yelled for the victim vehicle to pull over. Both vehicles stopped in the area of South Division Street and Hobson Street, where a confrontation ensued and a shot was fired. The suspects fled the scene, and the injured victim was taken to the hospital by a friend.
Patrol officers simultaneously responded to the crime scene and the hospital. Handgun casings were located at the crime scene which were similar to the casings located at the Chase Avenue/Myrtle Street crime scene. Officers worked swiftly to gather surveillance footage and identified the driver of the suspect vehicle as Eduardo Chavez-Contreras, a 27-year-old Walla Walla resident. Officers located the suspect vehicle in the 1800 block of Plaza Way. A search for the suspect and the vehicle was initiated.
Detectives obtained a search warrant for the residence and vehicle associated with Chavez-Contreras. Due to the violent nature of the crimes and the suspect’s prior criminal history involving firearms, the Walla Walla Regional SWAT Team was deployed to safely execute the warrant.
On Saturday, May 31, 2025, at 6:08 a.m., the Walla Walla Regional SWAT Team served the warrant at the Plaza Way address. Eduardo Chavez-Contreras and a teenage juvenile male suspect peacefully surrendered. During a subsequent search, firearms were recovered from the residence. Chavez-Contreras is legally prohibited from possessing firearms.
Eduardo Chavez-Contreras was arrested and booked into the Walla Walla County Jail on charges of Assault in the First Degree by Complicity, Drive-by Shooting, and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm in the First Degree. The teenage juvenile male suspect was also arrested and booked into the Walla Walla County Juvenile Justice Center on charges of Assault in the First Degree by Complicity and Drive-by Shooting by Complicity.
The investigations of both shootings remain ongoing. Anyone with information on either shooting is encouraged to call Det. Colin at 509-527-4434.
The Walla Walla Police Department commends the rapid response and coordination between patrol officers, detectives, and the Walla Walla Regional SWAT Team in safely resolving this incident and apprehending those responsible for the violence.
