"As governor of the state of Washington, I can say that our entire state is united tonight. I’ve been across the state today from Tacoma to Othello to Burlington and I can say that all of our hearts are in Burlington tonight. There are seven million pairs of arms that would want to embrace the families and their losses, and the whole Skagit County community. The state of Washington is with this community and will be in the weeks to come.
“We are united in an amazingly powerful respect for the law enforcement personnel and the work they did here. Within 24 hours they made this arrest, with nearly two dozen law enforcement agencies coordinating their activities. Hundreds of law enforcement personnel did what they do every day, which is to put themselves on the line. We thank them both for their courage and their professionalism.
“We are united in knowing that status quo is not good enough when it comes to violence in our community. We don’t have the answer to this violence. But I do know this, passivity in the face of this scourge of violence is unacceptable. Inaction in the face of this violence is unacceptable.
“In the days to come, I hope we will be united by allowing law enforcement to do their work, to do further investigation on this and act together to reduce the violence in our communities. Our hearts are in Burlington tonight."