Suspect in officer's killing wounded

SEATTLE, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- A 40-year-old man suspected of killing a Seattle police officer was in stable condition Saturday after being shot by police, officials said.

Christopher John Monfort was wounded in the head and shoulder Friday afternoon by police in the suburb of Tukwila as a memorial service for Officer Timothy Brenton was concluding at KeyArena, The Seattle Times reported. He was being treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Police Chief John Diaz said.

Investigators say Monfort also is suspected in the Oct. 22 fire bombing of a police maintenance yard.

Brenton was gunned down Oct. 31 by someone who pulled up next to his cruiser.

Police had been looking for a Datsun 210 that had driven by 20 minutes earlier. Tukwila police got a tip about a similar car Friday.

Police said Monfort started running when police tried to question him and then pulled out a handgun.

Gerry Wegner, a former state criminal justice official who taught Monfort at Highline Community College, said he was "shaken to my toes" by learning a man he described as a "mature, stable individual" was a suspect in a police killing.

Monfort graduated from the University of Washington in 2008. He was accepted into a program for minority students considering graduate work.

The Times, citing sources, said he was recently laid off from a job as a security guard. He has also worked as a volunteer with juvenile offenders.