A 31-year-old Ocean Shores man was arrested and a 29-year-old Hoquiam man was hospitalized after they gained entry to a residence on the 2400 block of Aberdeen Avenue early Saturday morning and become involved in an altercation.
A resident of the house shot the 29-year-old, who Hoquiam police located wounded in the YMCA parking lot, said Lt. Brian Dayton of the Hoquiam Police Department.
“We had two individuals go into a house, without permission, looking for someone else,” Dayton said in an interview. “During the course of this back and forth, telling them to get out of the house, one of the occupants of the residence had a concealed carry license and a firearm and approached the individuals to tell them to get out of the house. One of the suspects got into a scuffle with the guy with the firearm and the weapon discharged, striking the suspect in the lower extremity.”
The two suspects left the building at that point, Dayton said.
“After the firearm went off, both suspects exited the residence. The suspect that was shot was found in the YMCA parking,” Dayton said. “He was bleeding and in a lot of pain, but coherent. He was treated and transported to Harbor Regional Health and later transported to (St. Joseph Medical Center) in Tacoma.”
HPD is getting a warrant for the injured suspect, Dayton said, and will seek his return to custody following treatment. The names of the suspects have not yet been released, pending formal charging. No other injuries were reported, though a door on the inside of the residence was damaged, Dayton said. The resident who shot the suspect was interviewed by police and released without being charged, Dayton said.
“Initially the individual that shot the suspect was brought in for questioning, and was later released,” Dayton said. “He’s not a convicted felon, he’s licensed, and the gun was licensed to him.”
There is no ongoing threat to the public, Dayton said. Locking one’s doors can prevent similar incidents from happening to residents, Dayton said.
Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or michael.lockett@thedailyworld.com.
