Lawyers haven’t revealed how they plan to defend their client but Patrick Cooney pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning in the Capitol HIll road rage shooting that killed Elijah Lewis and injured the 23-year-old’s young nephew earlier this month.

Cooney, 35 and a Yesler Terrace area resident, is charged with second degree murder and first degree assault.

Lewis was remembered during a vigil at Broadway and Pine as a dedicated community builder and entrepreneur in the Central District and Africatown communities.

Loved ones and supporters have called for extra scrutiny in the case involving a white man accused of shooting and killing a black man in the middle of a busy early evening on Capitol Hill.

The King County Prosecutor says Cooney was riding an electric scooter on E Pine just after 5 PM Saturday, April 1st when he became embroiled in an altercation and opened fire into the vehicle Lewis was driving, striking the man with a fatal shot and hitting the child in the calf. The child was treated for his injuries and released from the hospital. Lewis was shot in the chest and died at Harborview later that night.

Police say security video from the Walgreens at the corner of Broadway and Pine shows Cooney opening fire on the car even as it was turning to leave the area onto Broadway. Police say five spent shell casings were found at the scene. Three bullets were accounted for including the one that killed Lewis. Autopsy results show he had been shot in the back.

Witness accounts describe a black driver and a white scooter driver shouting at each other and Cooney allegedly trying to kick the car as the vehicle was driven past the scooter during the altercation.

According to police, Lewis was in the neighborhood to pick up his nephew from his nearby apartment home and take him to a monster truck rally at Lumen Field to celebrate the child’s birthday.

But the court documents do not include any information explaining why Cooney felt it was necessary to open fire. The police report included in the charges does not include an account of the events from Cooney and it is not clear if police were able to interview the suspect.

The prosecutor’s office tells CHS the defendant had a concealed pistol license.

Cooney remains jailed on $2 million bail.

The case is currently scheduled to go to a jury in October.

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