A 42-year-old Covington man was arrested after shooting his estranged wife, another man and his sister-in-law in the early morning hours Sunday at Club Galaxy at Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn.

The man reportedly fired shots into the crowd at the popular night club, seriously injuring two victims as well as wounding five others, according to information provided by the Auburn Police Department.

“We don’t know whether he followed his estranged wife there or if he just randomly ran into her,” said Auburn Police Commander Mike Hirman in a phone interview Tuesday. “It appears that he loitered about the Galaxy lounge for a few minutes before charging onto the dance floor and firing several rounds.”

The man was booked into the King County Jail for four counts of attempted homicide. He is being held on $1 million bail which was set at a hearing on Monday.

Police reported that the man shot his estranged wife, a man she was dancing with and her sister at the night club. The shooting may have stemmed from an ongoing domestic violence situation between the suspect and the woman.

The suspect allegedly shot his wife with a handgun around 1:30 a.m. when he discovered she was dancing with another man, police said.

“He first hit his wife’s male companion,” Hirman said. “He fired one or two rounds at him and then turned the gun to his wife. There was a bit of a struggle at first then he was able to fire a round into her then he turned and fired, striking her two sisters.”

During the incident the man reportedly fired several rounds, though it was his wife and sister-in-law who suffered the most serious injuries, Hirman said.

“Other rounds were fired and three other individuals that were dancing got hit,” Hirman said. “He then exited the floor and security just about immediately tackled him as he was getting off the floor and heading for the exit.”

The man was then arrested by an off-duty Auburn police officer who “was able to get there and sort through the mass exodus and get aid units” on the scene, Hirman said.

According to information provided by police, four victims were transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, including the woman and the man she was dancing with while the other two victims were reportedly in satisfactory condition immediately following the incident.

Three other victims were taken to Valley Medical Center in Renton and later released. Two other club patrons were injured when they tried to flee the scene with the rest of the crowd.

Hirman said Auburn Police plan to conduct a thorough investigation and have a number of witnesses to interview, including a pair of casino security employees who were close to the dance floor when the incident occurred, among other patrons of the club.

“We need to determine whether this was pre-meditated,” Hirman said. “We need to find out where he obtained the weapon and ammunition. We’re reviewing video tapes to find out if he followed his wife there. We have lots of witness interviews to complete.”

Reach Kris Hill at khill@covingtonreporter.com or 425-432-1209 ext. 5054.

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