Man arrested in shooting at apartment

A man fired a gun multiple times at his girlfriend’s ex-husband Thursday afternoon at an apartment complex in North Spokane, injuring the ex-husband and causing a nearby school to go into lockdown mode, police said.

Officers were dispatched to the scene at about 2:15 p.m. when the alleged shooter, Omar C. Jones, reported to police that he had fired shots at a man at Graymayre Crossing apartments, 636 E. Magnesium Road, said Spokane Police Sgt. Gary Warren.

The victim, whose name was not released, drove himself to Holy Family Hospital. He suffered wounds to his hand, arm and neck. Police found the man at the hospital and interviewed him, Warren said. His wounds did not appear to be life-threatening.

Police on the scene identified the victim as the woman’s ex-boyfriend. However, police spokesman Dick Cottam later wrote in a press release that the two apparently had been married in the past.

The ex-husband came to an apartment at the Graymayre to visit his ex-wife, who shares an apartment with Jones, police said. At some point, Jones fired multiple shots at the victim in a Graymayre parking lot, police said.

The victim told police that he had a gun in his car, but wasn’t carrying it with him when he was shot, Warren said.

Jones, 36, was questioned and booked into jail on a charge of first-degree assault. The ex-wife was questioned and released, said police spokesman Dick Cottam.

Soon after the reports of the shooting, police advised nearby Shiloh Hills Elementary School, 505 E. Stonewall Ave., about the incident and encouraged that it go into lockdown, said Shiloh Hills Principal Heather Roberts.

Some pupils reported hearing the shots from the school grounds.

All pupils who already weren’t in their classrooms were taken back to those rooms and classroom and outside doors were locked, Roberts said.

The school holds lockdown drills just like fire drills, so pupils and teachers understand how they work, she said.

“After school we had a meeting to review the plan, and everyone agreed that it went well,” Roberts said. “Teachers knew what to do, and students knew what to do.”

The shooting remains under investigation, Cottam said.