Officer opens fire outside Kent Ramada Inn during arrest of Fife homicide suspect

An arrest that involved an officer opening fire in Kent on Thursday afternoon has been tied to a man wanted in connection with the death of an Army National Guardsman in September.

KENT, Wash. - An arrest that involved an officer opening fire in Kent on Thursday afternoon has been tied to a man wanted in connection with the death of an Army National Guardsman in September.

Fife police say Andew Fonoti, also known as "Drewsky," is accused of killing a man during a shooting on Sept. 12. Investigators have been searching for him for weeks, and finally caught up with him at the Ramada Inn Thursday.

At some point, officers opened fire outside the hotel as they were trying to take him into custody. Although nobody was hurt, it was a tense situation in and around the hotel.

"Lots of police here for sure," said John Powell, a guest staying at the Ramada Inn.

Guests like Powell were welcomed by a massive police presence inside and outside the hotel during check-in.

"There were police all over the place. This was blocked off. This whole area was blocked off," said Powell.

Fife Chief of Police Pete Fisher says investigators received information early Thursday that Fonoti was at the Ramada Inn. Once detectives confirmed he was at that location, the SWAT team mobilized.

"Obviously a very dangerous individual and we wanted to take him into custody," said Fisher.

At one point, an officer fired a weapon outside the hotel. It's unclear what led up to the shooting.

"During the course of the arrest, we did have an officer fire at least a couple of rounds," said Fisher. "Nobody was hit, and we were able to successfully able to take our suspect into custody." .

Fisher says Fonoti has been on the run since Sept. 12 when National Guardsman Rudolph King III was shot in the head and killed. According to documents obtained by FOX 13, the 29-year-old faces several charges, including first-degree murder.

Prosecutors say Fonoti was riding in a stolen vehicle when he allegedly shot King. King's family was on the phone with him when he was struck by the bullet and killed.

"We keep hoping to wake up, and it was a nightmare," said Kristin King, King's mother.

"We are glad we got him before he got the chance to hurt somebody else," said Fisher.

Now that he's been arrested, guests are hoping for a quieter holiday weekend.

"It was a crazy start. Glad they got him. Should be safe here tonight," said Powell.

Fisher says Kent Police will be in charge of investigating why officers opened fire during the arrest.

"I know our officers were outside the motel when shots were fired, but that’s all I have," said Fisher. "The Kent police will determine that during the investigation."