Madison Park, Washington

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer of October 12, 2005

CEO fired gun with intruder lurking

Marchex chief saw man at his home; he cites separate threats

Madison Park is a quiet, leafy neighborhood where some of Seattle's wealthiest residents own multimillion-dollar mansions on Lake Washington.

But on the evening of Sept. 24, a disturbance occurred involving the chief executive of a publicly traded Internet company and a 33-year-old man who was said to be lamenting the demise of a relationship with a girlfriend.

A little after 9 p.m., Marchex Chief Executive Russell Horowitz, a Seattle Internet pioneer who co-founded Go2Net in the 1990s, fired his semiautomatic handgun into the air after the unidentified man allegedly dug up dead flowers in his yard and confronted a security guard.

The police report said that Horowitz, 39, took the action because he has received two death threats in the past six months. Tuesday, Horowitz told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that he has received threats, but the police officer mistakenly characterized them as death threats.

"There have been threats that have led to security concerns," said Horowitz, who declined to disclose details.
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Given the circumstances on the night of Sept. 24, Horowitz said that he reacted appropriately. According to the police report, Horowitz saw the man on his video surveillance system digging up the flowers. He then grabbed his handgun and went to investigate. Before firing into the air, Horowitz told police, he believed that the suspect was reaching into a backpack -- possibly to retrieve a weapon.

"If I hadn't been very concerned about the personal threat to the security person who was there and myself, I would have never taken that action," Horowitz said Tuesday. "The last thing I would ever want to do is be in a situation where the threat of a gun exists. ... I decided to take the risk and fire it into the air, rather than at anyone. It was a decision meant to disarm, as opposed to harm."

After the gunshot was fired, the man fell to the ground and skinned his hands and knees. A witness said that the incident occurred about 100 feet from Horowitz's house and that the man ran away.

Discharging a firearm is a crime in Seattle if there is a likelihood that humans, domestic animals or property will be jeopardized.

According to the police report, no one was arrested and no one was seriously injured. Rich Pruitt, a spokesman for the Seattle Police Department, said the incident would most likely be reviewed by detectives. He could not provide further details on the status of the case.

Horowitz said he was told by police that he acted within the law.

Horowitz is a licensed gun owner and after the incident the 9 mm handgun was returned to his possession. Horowitz said he did not know the individual who had wandered onto his 2.3-acre property. Horowitz called 911 shortly after the incident, as did a neighbor and the suspect.