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

Three hospitalized after shooting in Manito Park early Saturday

The water level of Mirror Pond in Manito Park has been lowered so the shoreline can be lined with basalt boulders. A asphalt path around the pond is also planned for the project. COLIN MULVANY colinm@spokesman.com (COLIN / SR)

Three people were hospitalized after a shooting in Manito Park early Saturday morning.

Police were called to the northern area of the park near Mirror Pond at about 2:15 a.m., where they found a man with a gunshot wound in his thigh, said Officer John O’Brien, Spokane police spokesman. He was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Two other men who also sustained gunshot wounds while in the park checked themselves into Providence Holy Family Hospital, also with non-life-threatening injuries, O’Brien said. One was shot in the leg, the other in the foot.

Police have not released the names of any shooting suspects nor the names of anyone who was injured.

Matthew Clarke, who lives on 18th Avenue with his wife and two children, was “ripped out of bed” when he heard multiple gunshots in quick succession, followed by a pause of about 30 seconds, then a few more gunshots.

“It was retaliatory gunfire,” he said. “Another burst of four or five shots.”

He said he ran to his window and could see multiple people running away from the park and hiding in neighbor’s bushes. He assumed it was a party that had erupted in violence.

“It really blew me away,” he said. “You see the kids running through the park, and there were a lot of them. A lot of kids.”

When police arrived at the park’s main entrance on 18th Avenue and Grand Boulevard about 15 minutes after the shots were fired, according to Clarke, they stopped a vehicle “trying to flee the area,” O’Brien said.

Officers noticed a gun in the car and seized the vehicle. They applied for a search warrant, O’Brien said, and were awaiting a response before searching the vehicle.

Clarke said it’s common for teenagers to throw parties in the park late at night. Two to three weeks ago, he said, there was another large party that also ended in violence.

“A big fight erupted,” he said. “They’re amazingly violent. You just hear screams and big crowds.”

Jim Lynn, who lives a few doors down from Clarke, also heard gunshots Saturday morning and ran to the window with his wife. He called police and gave a statement.