On the evening of November 24, 2023, 29-year-old Hawaiian Native father and pest control worker Malkie Loeak was shot multiple times and killed on the doorstep of his Auburn apartment in the 31600 block of Military Road South. The shooting happened shortly after 8 p.m. after someone knocked and banged at the door; Loeak opened it with the peephole obscured and was shot in front of his two-year-old daughter. Emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene and the King County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide from multiple gunshot wounds.

Family described Loeak as a devoted family man with no known enemies or criminal history who supported his partner, their four children and extended family. The King County Sheriff’s Office deployed a helicopter and K9 teams and Major Crimes investigators searched the area, but the suspect was not found and no arrests had been announced as of late 2023. Loeak’s killing was one of three fatal shootings in Auburn within six days; authorities have not said whether those incidents are linked.

If anyone has information about who knocked on that door or the gunman, please contact the King County Sheriff’s Office.