6 Dead In Washington State Shooting Spree

Sheriff's Deputy Among Dead; 2 More Wounded; Suspect Turns Self In

(CBS/AP)  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.

[beetlebug01]

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.

[crystalrene1]

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.

[sculler1956]

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.

[rosieod4prez]

"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.

[warmonger247]

If Your A Pregnant Teen Vote For The GOP.... Ha Ha Ha

[mshea2000]

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.

[pjsilk1]

Curtis Mayfield said it best "If theres hell below, we''re all going to go".

[ariess63]

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?

[tootall10142]

Now you know why i carry my weapon every where i go!

[whiskyrokr]

The cops should have put about 100 holes in this nutbag.

[gramto8]

America is Broken! The decadence, drug culture and gang warfare(especially illegal immigrant gangs) have destroyed our culture while the PROGRESSIVES(common term for Bolshevik subversives), have worked hard to tear down our culture and morals while trying to blame Bush for every thing that comes under the sun. How sick can we become before the folks demand a Constitutional Convention to straighten out the mess that we wallow in?

Posted by linymo at 08:04 AM : Sep 03, 2008

If we have a Constitutional convention, we will have to make sure GWB doesn''t attend. He seems to think the Constitution is just a G---Dam--d piece of paper!!

[panhandlpete]

"Someone with a mental problem" .....a phrase which changes the whole meaning of this story. Was this just the perception of the locals because this person did not think or act like the rest of folk, or was this label pinned on this individual by a professional head-shrink?

If he was so mentally deranged to commit murder, why would he have the good sense to turn himself in to the sheriff to prevent being shot and killed by those chasing him? Maybe the whole story is not printed here.

[gramto8]

Mental people are broken & defective. They don''''t work right and need to be gotten rid of. Would anyone really really mind if we just drowned them all in the sea? Would they mind? It would clear up the homeless problem real quick.

Posted by scnitelifelv at 01:05 AM : Sep 03, 2008

Get real!! There are many, many types of mental health issues. You could be talking anything from clinical depression to severe paranoid schizophrenia to any other psychosis. How can you justify your inane comment about ''really mind if we just drowned them all in the sea''? I think you should be the first to test the waters!

[bob5ford]

Someone should look at the kill rate in all of Africa, a lot of Asia and eastern europe, including Russia. Then maybe the U.S. wouldn''t look so bad. Only in police states (most of europe) are where the populace is very tightly controlled is there a lower death rate. Just look at Mexico, there death rate from crime is way above the U.S, with over 2,500 from drug crime in the first half of 2008 alone. Their gun death rate is 3 times that of the U.S. and the overall crime death rate is almost 4 times that of the U.S. South Africa leads the world in gun deaths, with Brazil and Columbia among those higher then the U.S. Even North Ireland has a higher one. Want to institute gun control, do it too those countries having a higher gun death rate then the U.S. (about half the world) first. If it works then maybe we''ll consider it.

[godzfan]

Posted by tmittelstaed at 05:42 AM : Sep 03, 2008
I find it very hard to believe that a mentally ill person would pass a background check and even harder to believe that this kook got his guns without the gun seller violating a few laws.
-------------------------------------------
The only question on the application for a gun is: Have you ever been treated for a mental illness?
YES or NO
You don''t have to tell someone that because its a violation of you patient rights not to mention civil rights. The same question is asked on the Commercial drivers liscense for truck drivers yet I know of 2 that have been in hospitals for mental problems and yet are running our nations roads with an 80,000 lb. weapon.
Wanna yell at someone don''t yell at the gun dealer,yell at the government that makes it impossible to get someone over the age of 18 hospitalized or make them take their meds.

[godzfan]

well said,Welshwoman.
I too have a mentally ill child and in order to get anything done the person has to be willing to get treatment. It is tragic that the only time the courts can step in and put them in a hopsital is when something of this nature occurs.
As Welshman said it has to do with the persons rights. The most the police can do is get a 72 hour hold on them for onservation and in our case the child knows how to act to get released.
The doctors have diagnosed her as early schitzoid personality disorder and that she could become homocidal but since she is on social security medicaid would be paying the bill for the state hospital and it would be like robbing Peter to pay Paul. In other words there is no profit in one state agency paying another.
So in the end you have events of this nature taking place. Nothing to do with Guns,TV,or Video games.Just straight out government bureaucracy and red tape.

[welshwoman-2009]

Stop blaming guns, laws and gun dealers. Mentally ill people are the root of the problem. If we would deal effectively with the illness (which their families and friends usually know about) it would help a lot. Unfortunately, the law enforcement community are just the first responders and they have very little control in these situations because of human rights issues. Do you homework and stop spouting off without knowing what you are talking about.

[slim1h2o]

The man was not immediately identified but Leary said he is known to authorities as "someone with a mental illness."

There are two groups that share blame for this shooting, the authorities that allowed this person to walk around in public without treatment, and mental health professionals that didn''t treat this person.

[ahrats]

It appears the police fell flat on this one. You could not catch the guy until he turn himself in with one dead police officer, another wounded, and several other victums killed. What you police guys do not own a helicopter, have a description of the killer vehicle, just let him drive where ever he want to kill some more, He probablay ran out of bullets.

[tmittelstaed]

Can we possibly have an investigation to find out how this kook got a hold of his gun or guns, who he bought them from? I find it very hard to believe that a mentally ill person would pass a background check and even harder to believe that this kook got his guns without the gun seller violating a few laws.