Man shot in White Center known as good neighbor

White Center neighbors Saturday were struggling to come to terms with the shooting death of a man they knew as pleasant, hard-working and a devoted father.

A bouquet of flowers was placed near juniper bushes close to the street where Craig Hoffman, 46, was fatally shot about 9 a.m. Friday in front of his home in the 11000 block of 14th Avenue Southwest.

Police said Hoffman was shot after he apparently found three teenage boys breaking into his home.

At the Hoffman residence Saturday afternoon, a young man who answered the door said the family did not want to speak to reporters.

Across the street, Luther Turner, 81, said he knew Hoffman casually. "I would talk with him when I picked up my mail. He was always very pleasant."

Turner's wife, Georgia, said she noticed that Turner would walk his school-age children to the bus stop and wait for the bus with them.

"We used to have an elderly couple living next door and he helped them out. He painted their garage," she said.

Georgia Turner said the shooting was out of character for the neighborhood where she has lived since the 1950s. "We've had it relatively safe and quite around here."

Luther Turner said that on Friday he counted as many as 13 police cars and emergency vehicles on his block, which was closed to traffic most of that day.

Erin Charles, 38, who has lived next door to Hoffman for a year, said, "He's a really nice guy. I needed wood for my fireplace, and he would bring me some. And he was getting ready to fix a plumbing problem for me."

Charles said Hoffman had four children, including a daughter the same age as her own son, 10.

"He would take my son sometimes when they would go to McDonald's or to the store," she said. "He was really good with kids."

King County sheriff's spokesman John Urquhart said two 14-year-olds and a 15-year-old were arrested Friday afternoon, and it's believed the 15-year-old shot Hoffman.

Although Hoffman, a contractor, had been the subject of consumer complaints, Turner said she had him install 15 windows in her home a few years ago and was happy with his work. She also was impressed with a major remodel Turner did on his own home.

"It was very nice," she said. "Very good work."

Information from The Seattle Times archives was included in this report.

Jack Broom: 206-464-2222