CBS/AP/ February 11, 2009, 2:23 PM

6 Dead In Washington State Shooting Spree

A shooting rampage Tuesday afternoon in northwest Washington has left six people dead, including a sheriff's deputy, the State Patrol said. A suspect in the shootings has surrendered.

Two people were wounded during the violence in Skagit County, including a state trooper who reportedly was grazed in the arm by a bullet.

A man was arrested after turning himself in at the Skagit County sheriff's office in Mount Vernon, Trooper Keith Leary said. The man was not immediately identified but Leary said he is known to authorities as "someone with a mental illness."

The dead were found at multiple crime scenes. They included the deputy shot while responding to a call and a second person killed at the same location near the small town of Alger; two construction workers found shot nearby, and a third body found a few houses away, Leary said. Authorities were investigating any connection among those sites.

A motorist was shot and killed on Interstate 5 as the suspect fled south.

The sheriff's deputy was responding to a disturbance call around 2:20 p.m., reports CBS affiliate KIRO-TV in Seattle. When the sheriff's deputy arrived, one person was already dead in the home, said Leary. Some time went by before the police station called the officer to do a status check. When they received no answer, police responded to the sheriff's deputy and found him fatally shot in the head, Skagit County police said.

The wounded included a motorcyclist who was shot in the arm at a Shell gas station in Alger and the trooper hit as the suspect raced along I-5.

After the shootings in the Alger area, the armed man raced south on Interstate 5 at speeds in excess of 90 mph, with troopers, sheriff's deputies and Mount Vernon police in pursuit, Leary said.

The civilian motorist was shot and killed and the unidentified trooper was grazed by a bullet along I-5 near a rest stop, Leary said. The trooper was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

The victims were not immediately identified.

The first shootings were reported shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday and the suspect was in custody by about 4:30 p.m.

The pursuit ended when the suspect drove to Mount Vernon precinct of the Skagit County Sheriff's Office and surrendered, Leary said. A bullet hole was found in the passenger side window of the suspect's truck, reported KIRO.

State Patrol troopers temporarily closed all southbound lanes of I-5 north of Burlington for a period Tuesday evening, backing up traffic for miles, as they investigated that crime scene.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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beetlebug01 says:
I work in the crisis system in the county this occurred in. It''s about lack of money to pay for services. It''s about a prosecutor attempting to deny legal services, refusing to give change of venue to other counties so they can hold our patients when our facilities are full. It''s about a mental health system geared only to people in Crisis. But mainly... it''s about money and the lack of money for support for those who most desperately need it. Incidentally this man didn''t go to a gun shop... he probably got the weapons off private owners or at a gun show. They don''t do background checks here. It''s a tragedy that didn''t need to happen. It was probably seen as a criminal matter rather than a civil one by local authorities.
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crystalrene1 says:
How can so many people put the blame on his parents? I am a good friend of The Zamoras and I must tell you, Dennise tried everything she possible could to get her Isaac help. The state would NOT commit him due to not enough "evidence" of him being a threat/harmful. He is the one that made this decision. He is the one that picked up that gun and shot those innocent people. Mrs. Zamora feels guilty enough for her son doing this.
Remember it isn''t about her, it''s Isaac Lee.
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sculler1956 says:
There''s absolutely nothing wrong with the Constitution that we have now. It stands as the Pinnacle of Progressive foresight. It''s the subverting of it that''s the problem.
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rosieod4prez says:
"If Your (sic) A Pregnant Teen Vote For The GOP.... Ha Ha Ha - Posted by WarMonger247


I''m surprised he got "ha ha ha" spelled correctly! Obama likes''em stupid. It''s the only way he''ll get elected.
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warmonger247 says:
If Your A Pregnant Teen Vote For The GOP.... Ha Ha Ha
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mshea2000 says:
I live in Seattle just south of this shooting and went to college in a quiet town just north of where it occured.

It sickens me to think that at this very moment he is being fed three square meals and has access to health care and legal counsel.

I think we should torture this punk and choke him with pig sh*t.

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pjsilk1 says:
Curtis Mayfield said it best "If theres hell below, we''re all going to go".
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ariess63 says:
First of all yes every person is responsible for their own actions.Just to let you know I am one of "them". Kuroshio you are wrong to say that MOST of the mentally ill people don''t want treatment. MOST of us do. Of course part of the reason people don''t seek help is because of the stigma attached to the illness. Just in this forum MI people were described as being kooks wingnuts broken defective wacko and morons. And lets not forget we should be gotten rid of. BUT we get help anyway. Having an MI is no walk in the park. It is actually quite painful and overwhelming. And I''m not talking of just the illness itself. Have you seen all the paperwork you have to fill out just to see a doctor in the first place? Not to mention the amount of time you spend on hold just trying to find help. And if you are lucky you can see someone in about 2 months. Now I''m not a big gun lover, but I don''t like the idea of having any of my rights taken away from me any more than you would. I am not a criminal. But because I have a MI it is assumed that I will commit a crime in the future. I can think of some other groups of people that should be considered more of a threat. Should I be allowed to vote? Perhaps I should not be able to drive. If I was listed as MI on a background check how easy do you think it would be for me to get a job or rent an apartment? So I repeat again everyone is responsible for their own actions, but should I be responsible for the actions of all the MI people of this country?
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tootall10142 says:
Now you know why i carry my weapon every where i go!
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whiskyrokr says:
The cops should have put about 100 holes in this nutbag.
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