More than a week after a man shot his neighbor at a stoplight in the Walnut Grove area, police hadn’t released the identity of a person who was shot by SWAT officers during the manhunt, or any information about that person’s injury or condition.
Vancouver police spokeswoman Kim Kapp said the investigation is complex and involves multiple law enforcement agencies.
“Detectives don’t yet have a full picture of what happened during that part of the incident,” Kapp said. “They are finishing up some interviews today and over the weekend.”
John Kendall shot Abigail Mounce on Halloween morning while his car was stopped beside the Mounces’ vehicle at a red light.
The shooting triggered a wave of police response to locations around town where Kendall might have been.
During the search, SWAT officers shot an unidentified person who was apparently spotted near Kendall’s vehicle in Blandford Canyon, off East Evergreen Boulevard above state Highway 14.
Kendall was later found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The Vancouver Police Department did release the names of three officers involved in the shooting: Vancouver police Cpl. Chris LeBlanc, 47; Vancouver police Officer Brian Frances, 38; and Clark County sheriff’s Deputy Anthony Spainhower, 39. All three were placed on paid administrative leave until the investigation is completed, which is standard procedure following an officer-involved shooting. The investigation will be led by the Camas Police Department, whose officers were not involved in the shooting.
“With the number of law enforcement that were in and around that area, it’s just taking a lot longer to do the interviews,” Kapp said. “They’re working as quickly as they can.”
She said there may be additional information next week.
After reconstructive surgery at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, Mounce was reportedly recovering at home Friday. She will need to be fitted with a prosthetic eye.
