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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Student Taken At Gunpoint Man Orders WSU Student To Drive Him To Walla Walla

Eric Sorensen Staff writer

A Washington State University student was kidnapped at gunpoint Thursday morning by a man who ordered him to drive from downtown to Walla Walla.

The student, who asked police not to release his name, was uninjured “other than probably being frightened out of his wits,” said Pullman Sgt. Chris Tennant.

The student contacted police in Walla Walla after the gunman had him drive to an alley on the west end of the city, where he jumped out and ran off.

Tennant said he had not heard of a similar case in his 13 years on the force.

“It’s extremely rare,” he said.

The victim, a 30-year-old student from the Tacoma area, was stopped at Main Street and Grand Avenue about 8:45 a.m. when the man got into the student’s car through an unlocked passenger door and pointed a revolver at him, police said.

The victim attempted to have a conversation with the gunman along the way but to no avail, said Mike Moses, a Walla Walla detective.

“He tried to get him to talk, but he told him to shut up, drive,” Moses said.

The duo did not stop over the course of the 115-mile trip.

The gunman did not smell of liquor or act as if he might be under the influence of drugs, Moses said. He was described as a white male between 38 and 40 years old, 5 feet 6 inches tall and 160 pounds. He wore a gray knit stocking hat, a black ski coat, new-looking blue jeans and white tennis shoes. He had a five-day growth of beard and a one-inch scar above the right eyebrow.

The victim helped Walla Walla police assemble a photo-like composite picture of the gunman.

, DataTimes