The Clark County Sheriff’s Office is searching for the suspect in a shooting that left a man wounded early Monday morning in Hazel Dell. The suspect, identified by detectives as Kenneth M. Debruyn, 40, of Vancouver, is considered armed and dangerous.
According to a sheriff’s office statement, deputies responded to Dell Terrace Apartments, 7422 N.E. Hazel Dell Ave., after multiple 911 callers reported hearing a gunshot and screams. Deputies arrived at about 1:35 a.m. to find a man in the parking lot with a single gunshot wound to the torso. The suspect, Debruyn, had already fled the apartment complex in a vehicle.
The victim was taken to an area hospital for treatment; he is expected to survive his injuries, the sheriff’s office said.
The agency said Debruyn, the victim and witnesses all knew each other, and the shooting may have stemmed from an argument involving a girlfriend. Authorities have not released the victim’s name, citing the nature of the incident.
A Vancouver police officer spotted the suspect vehicle at about 2:20 a.m. in the North Image neighborhood of east Vancouver. The driver of the vehicle tried to elude police but crashed after a few blocks and then ran. The vehicle was recovered by police near Northeast 49th Street and 137th Avenue.
The Southwest Washington Regional SWAT Team responded to search for Debruyn. Officers focused on a residence with which Debruyn is known to be associated, located near where the suspect vehicle was recovered, the sheriff’s office said.
Detectives, with help from the SWAT Team, served a search warrant on the residence later Monday morning, but Debruyn was not located there, according to an update from the sheriff’s office.
Detectives have established probable cause to arrest Debruyn on suspicion of first-degree attempted murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. He also has a felony warrant out of Clackamas County, Ore., the sheriff’s office said.
Anyone who knows of Debruyn’s whereabouts or has additional information should contact Detective Dean Telecsan at Dean.Telecsan@clark.wa.gov.
The case is being investigated by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Team.
