Police investigating West-side sniper shootings

ARLINGTON, Wash. (AP) — Investigators today are working to determine what led a sniper to open fire in a wooded neighborhood about 50 miles north of Seattle over the weekend before being killed in a shootout with police. The sniper was probably shot by a member of the SWAT team that responded Sunday, said Snohomish County sheriff’s spokeswoman Shari Ireton. Authorities have release few details regarding the shooting, and Ireton said the number of shots fired was unclear. “A lot from both sides,” she said. “It was pretty intense for a few minutes there.” One person was wounded, a man in his 20s who was shot in his driveway by the sniper, police said. The man was treated at a hospital for a leg wound. No officers were injured. Several police vehicles and civilian cars were hit by bullets, and there were enough shots fired that police at one point thought there may have been a second sniper. It took hours to secure the area and determine there was a single suspect, a man in his 60s, police said. Officers found his weapon, but have not described it. His body was not removed until Monday. The Snohomish County medical examiner’s office is conducting an autopsy Tuesday to officially determine how the man died. His name may be released later, said Al Noriega, chief investigator. In addition to Snohomish deputies, officers from Everett, Stanwood and Bellingham police departments and the King and Whatcom county sheriff’s offices responded. Residents along Jim Creek Road were told to stay in their homes during the shooting and traffic was blocked for hours. The death is being investigated by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team. “It took a short period of time for things to happen, and it’s going to take days to piece a timeline together,” Ireton said.