A Vancouver man is accused of shooting into a woman’s SUV — with her children inside — in northwest Vancouver following a road rage incident Sunday evening.
Arik J. Odegard, 53, appeared Monday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of three counts of first-degree assault. Judge Robert Lewis set his bail at $500,000 and ordered he be subject to GPS monitoring if he posts bail. The judge also ordered he not be released until he surrenders his firearms. He’s scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 4.
Vancouver police responded at 7:52 p.m. to the 1800 block of Northwest 65th Street for reports of an assault with a weapon.
Officers learned a woman called 911 to report she was shot at while she and her children were in her car. A man, later identified as Odegard, also called 911, saying the shooting was an accidental discharge, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The woman said she was driving her Volvo XC90 with her two sons, one in the front passenger seat and the other in the rear driver’s side seat. She said the driver of a GMC Yukon was driving close behind her before the GMC passed her, pulled in front of her and then slammed on the brakes. She then recognized the GMC by stickers on the bumper as belonging to her neighbor, court records state.
She said she then went to her neighbor’s house to note the license plate number. While there, she said Odegard got out of the GMC and pointed a gun at her vehicle. She said he then shot once, causing damage to the windshield. She reported no injuries other than some hearing loss, according to court records.
When officers arrived at Odegard’s house, they detained him. According to court records, Odegard told police he was returning from a hunting trip, and the woman cut him off. As he exited his SUV, he saw the Volvo driving toward him, he said. He said he grabbed his shotgun, took a round out of his pocket and put the round in the chamber. He said he then looked down the sight and pulled the hammer halfway back, but his finger slipped and the gun fired, the affidavit states.
He told officers he never heard the Volvo’s engine revving or the tires spinning during the time he said it was driving toward him, according to court records.
