A verbal disagreement inside the Meeker Street Bar & Grill in Kent, Washington, on May 2, 2024, escalated into a physical fight in the parking lot and ended with the death of 30-year-old Roderick Loi Belford of Federal Way. Calls to 911 came in shortly before 11:00 PM; while a witness was on the line, gunshots were heard and later callers reported a man not breathing. Officers found Belford inside the bar with multiple gunshot wounds; he died despite aid from police and firefighters. He was later determined to have been shot eight times, including two head wounds.

Twenty-five-year-old Daniel Suesue of Spanaway was identified as the shooter, taken into custody at the scene, found with a Springfield XD 9mm pistol, and admitted to the shooting. Investigators recovered a second handgun inside the bar. Witness accounts conflict about whether Belford had a gun outside, while surveillance footage reportedly shows him unarmed inside with his left hand in his jacket pocket when Suesue fired at close range. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed second-degree murder charges and Suesue was booked with bail set at $1 million.