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

Gunman in attempted murder/suicide identified

A man who police say shot his ex-girlfriend in the head before killing himself Monday has been identified as Veniamin N. Gorkovchenko, 28. Gorkovchenko was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head when police arrived at 3105 E. Fifth Ave., after being alerted to the attack at 12:11 p.m., according to the Spokane Police Department. Gorkovchenko was identified today after an autopsy by the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office, which ruled his death a suicide. The woman, who has not been publicly identified, remained in stable condition at a Spokane hospital today, according to police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer DeRuwe. Police say Gorkovchenko and the woman recently ended a relationship. A gun was found near his body outside the woman’s home. According to a search warrant, officers found the woman with “obvious bullet wounds to the head” in the top floor of the house, which was converted to apartments. “The female uttered indiscernible names to responding officers pertaining to the suspect,” according to the warrant, which was used to search the woman’s apartment. Police recovered two bullet fragments, a cellphone and blankets that could hold other evidence. They also collected some blood evidence. Gorkovchenko was a felon with a drug conviction in 2007 that earned him 39 days in jail and two years probation. He also was convicted of second-degree assault in 2002 for a stabbing at Red Lake in southern Stevens County. According to previous reports, the assault was sparked by the 48-year-old victim and his friends telling Gorkovchenko, then 18, “This is America; speak American.” Gorkovchenko emigrated to the United States from Russia when he was 6 and was a U.S. citizen who spoke both languages, according to news archives. He was sentenced to nine months in jail.