Suspect Sought In Restaurant Slaying -- Shipyard Owner Shot To Death At Fremont Restaurant

Homicide detectives are looking for a motive for the murder of a Seattle businessman killed in a crowded Fremont restaurant during lunchtime yesterday.

David Lawrence Tippett, 46, owner of Tippett Marine Services, 2155 N. Northlake Way on Lake Union, died at 1:30 p.m., an hour after he was shot in the head while having lunch at the Fremont Dock Restaurant, 1102 N. 34th St.

"The suspect just walked up to him and shot him," reported Sgt. Tom Miller of the Seattle police homicide unit.

QUICK DISAPPEARANCE

Asked if the shooting was a planned execution, Miller would not say, adding, "We're investigating every aspect."

The assailant, described as a Hispanic male between 20 and 30 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall with black hair to his shoulders and wearing a denim jacket with a fleece lining, walked out after the shooting and disappeared.

"We'd like to talk to anyone who knows him," Miller said, adding that no one in the restaurant said they recognized him. It was a business luncheon, Miller said, and there were quite a few patrons inside the restaurant at the time. Tippett, a Bothell-area resident, was at a table with another person at the time.

GUNMAN HAD A DRINK

According to witnesses, the assailant, who had been in the restaurant bar and had one drink but left, re-entered and walked up to the victim and asked if he was Tippett.

The man asked about employment, witnesses said, and Tippett gave him the address of his business and the name of someone to see about a job.

The man left, but less than two minutes later he walked back in and shot Tippett in the head with a handgun.

The gunman was last seen walking northbound on Stone Way North. A restaurant employee followed for a distance but soon gave up and returned.