In brief: Post Falls woman shot in face; boyfriend in custody

A Post Falls woman was in critical condition Sunday after being shot in the face, authorities said.

Her boyfriend, who called 911 at 4:12 p.m. to report he’d shot the woman, was taken into custody, according to the Post Falls Police Department. Officers found him in the street outside the home.

The critically wounded woman was inside the home and she was rushed to Kootenai Health hospital in Coeur d’Alene, police said.

Detectives have taken over the investigation.

Man brings gunshot victim to hospital

A man shot during a dispute in Spokane Valley, possibly over a stolen vehicle, was rushed to a hospital early Sunday by a good Samaritan, authorities said.

The gunshot victim was bleeding severely from a bullet wound to his upper leg when the motorist quickly loaded him into his own vehicle in the area of Pines Road and Trent Avenue shortly after 7 a.m., according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. Neither the victim’s identity nor a report on his condition were available.

SERVPRO, a company that specializes in crime scene cleanup, offered to clean the good Samaritan’s vehicle at no charge after learning from deputies of his potentially life-saving efforts, the Sheriff’s Office said. That person’s identity also was being withheld.

Details surrounding the shooting were unclear Sunday evening, but detectives were still investigating. Authorities are asking anyone with information about the shooting to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

All evacuation advisories surrounding a wildfire near Airway Heights have been lifted.

No homes were lost in the wildfire, which grew to an estimated 270 acres and drew help from aerial tankers and fire crews from across the state, according to the Washington State Patrol. Some utility equipment, a chicken coop and another outbuilding were damaged, though.

The cause of the fire, which was reported about 4:30 p.m. Saturday along Coulee Hite Road about 6 miles west of Spokane, remains under investigation.

Sanders draws large crowd in Portland

PORTLAND – Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Sunday night spoke to his second packed crowd in the Pacific Northwest as supporters filled Portland’s Moda Center to hear the Vermont senator talk about income inequality and other issues.

About 19,000 people cheered Sanders in the arena that is home to the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. The rally had originally been scheduled at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which has a capacity of about 12,000, but was moved in anticipation of large crowds.

Sanders spoke for about an hour and touched on things like sustainable energy, the need for affordable higher education and the environment. But much of his speech centered on economic issues.

Sanders said income inequality was “the great moral issue of our time.”

On Saturday, Sanders spoke to a packed audience at the University of Washington campus, but earlier in the day in Seattle he was shoved aside by Black Lives Matter activists who called for changes to the criminal justice system. Sanders eventually left the Saturday afternoon event at Seattle’s Westlake Park without giving his speech.

Miami leaders call for orca’s release

MIAMI – The mayor of Miami Beach and other South Florida leaders are joining the opposition to an orca’s decades-long captivity at the Miami Seaquarium.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and other groups have sued in Miami federal court, saying the orca named Lolita should ultimately be removed to a sea pen under a retirement plan that would more closely mimic her natural Pacific Ocean environment.

Lolita was captured in 1970 off the Washington state coast.

Seaquarium officials said Lolita is healthy and removing her would be cruel and traumatic. They criticized Sunday’s protesters, calling them extremists set on discrediting the park.

In a statement, Seaquarium officials said it would be reckless to jeopardize her health by moving her to a sea pen or open waters in order to appease a fringe group.

Boy hurt in fall at Taylor Swift show

SEATTLE – A 13-year-old boy at a Taylor Swift concert was hurt when he fell from an upper level of Seattle’s CenturyLink Field.

The Seattle Times reported that the call to the Seattle Fire Department came in six minutes after the 7 p.m. Saturday show was scheduled to begin. He fell from the stadium’s 300 level to the 200 level, but fire spokesman Kyle Moore said he was stable, alert and conscious when medics took him to Harborview Medical Center.