Patty Hastings, Columbian
Social Services, Demographics, Faith
Published: July 14, 2015, 12:00am
Share:
A man shot and killed his wife, his mother-in-law and then himself Tuesday afternoon in a house in Hazel Dell, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
At the time of the shooting, the couple’s children were at the home, and one of the children called 911, sheriff’s Sgt. Alex Schoening said. The single-family home, at 2614 N.E. 98th St., is in the Ivy Glen subdivision near Gaiser Middle School.
Nobody else was injured. The incident was reported at about 3:45 p.m. as a disturbance with a weapon, according to 911 dispatch logs.
The street was cordoned off by police tape as detectives with the sheriff’s office’s Major Crimes Unit investigated. Inside the home, detectives found the three adults dead, apparently from gunshot wounds, Schoening said. The names of those who died were not released pending notification of family.
The couple’s children were found safe and were escorted from the house by deputies, Schoening said.
“This is not a situation where there is an unknown gunman,” Schoening said, adding that the public is not in danger. “It’s a very tragic situation.”
Vance Jeannet, 36, was driving home when he noticed a Vancouver Police Department officer driving in front of him. Jeannet then turned on his emergency dispatch scanner and heard about the call in his neighborhood, just blocks from his house.
He drove to the crime scene and watched as three people in the garage at the house on 98th Street were summoned out by police, Jeannet said. Officers then rushed into the house.
Jeannet has lived in the neighborhood for six years.
“When you see that many police cars, you know something bad happened. These are the things you don’t want to see in your neighborhood,” he said.
Morning Briefing Newsletter
Get a rundown of the latest local and regional news every Mon-Fri morning.