Gunman wounds two near Battle Ground; apparently kills himself hours laterFree

A man who shot two people Tuesday afternoon in a rural area southwest of Battle Ground apparently killed himself less than two hours later in southern Cowlitz County, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

Both victims were shot in the legs with an AR-15 or similar weapon shortly after 4 p.m. and were taken to an area hospital, according to the sheriff’s office and emergency radio traffic monitored at The Columbian.

The suspect was reported armed with the rifle and considered dangerous. He was described as a man in his 20s or 30s, wearing a black sweatshirt and jeans, with shaggy hair and a scruffy beard or 5 o’clock shadow, according to the radio traffic.

The shooting was reported in the 7400 block of Northeast 159th Street, which is in a rural area between Mount Vista and Brush Prairie. The suspected shooter fled on foot, then carjacked a champagne-colored 2005 Honda Civic from a woman and fled on 159th Street, according to the radio traffic.

The incident reportedly started when the gunman drove a different vehicle into a ditch in front of a residence and shot two people who went to see if he was OK. The suspect was unknown to the shooting victims.

Northeast 159th Street was blocked from 72nd Avenue to 82nd Avenue due to the investigation. People were asked to avoid the area.

At 5:46 p.m., emergency responders were dispatched to 1258 Yale Bridge Road, just north of the Lewis River, and found a man dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The man matched the description of the shooting suspect, and a car matching the description of the one stolen in the carjacking was found nearby.

Clark County Major Crimes Unit is investigating.