Washington man fatally shoots estranged wife in bar while she was working, cops say

A Washington man is under arrest after he went to the bar where his wife was working and shot her to death, police said.

As 26-year-old Anna Lopez and her coworkers were busy closing up Sam’s Tavern in Bellevue, Washington, around 10 p.m. on July 5, the suspect, who police did not immediately identify, entered and gunned down the victim. She died at the scene.

The suspect was later identified as Dylan Scott Jennings, according to KIRO news.

“This is truly a very sad case where a victim died by the hands of her estranged husband," Bellevue Police Department Capt. Debbie Ingram said of what police are calling a domestic violence incident, according to Seattle radio station KOMO.

“The most important thing is if there is anybody out there who feels they are in fear or they need help, to contact their local police department. We have resources, we have shelters,” Capt. Ingram said. “We can help you. We don't ever want to see this type of incident occur to anyone. It's just a tragedy.”

The couple had no previously reported domestic violence trouble in the past, police said.

Detectives discovered at a nearby construction site what they believe to be the murder weapon. At around midnight, the 34-year-old Jennings was found about seven blocks from the bar.

Jennings was speaking on the phone to his father, who was instrumental in getting him to surrender, and police took the suspect into custody without incident.

The bar’s owner, James Snyder, told the station his objectives operating the bar have changed since Lopez’s shooting, noting “the purpose of this business now is to help honor her life.”

Jennings was booked into the King County Jail, and police expect to charge him with first-degree murder.