Woman Shoots Armed Man To Death Near Colville Victim, 33, Had Been Involved In Earlier Shooting At Nearby Home

The second of two altercations Sunday night proved fatal for Colville area resident William J. Barr, 33.

Margarita Kingsbury, 32, said she shot Barr to death when he threatened her with a revolver. The shooting occurred about four hours after Barr had been involved in a shooting at the nearby home of April Kingsbury, 20, believed to be Margarita Kingsbury’s daughter or stepdaughter.

Stevens County Sheriff Craig Thayer said Monday he would confer with Prosecutor Jerry Wetle on whether the fatal shooting was justified. So far, Margarita Kingsbury has not been charged.

“All we know is he was making threats and he pointed a gun, and she had one, and I guess she believed him,” Undersheriff Gilbert Geer said.

He said he is “fairly certain” Barr didn’t fire any shots. Geer also said he doesn’t know how many bullets struck Barr or where he was hit. Kingsbury’s husband and several of their children were inside the house, but none of them witnessed the shooting.

That and the earlier shooting both occurred across the Columbia River from Evans, Wash., about 15 miles northwest of Colville.

Geer said Kingsbury reported Barr stood in her yard about 11:30 p.m. and threatened her and her children. Kingsbury said she shot Barr several times with a .22-caliber rifle after he pointed a pistol at her.

Geer said he doesn’t know why Barr may have threatened Kingsbury. However, he said Barr reportedly was angry earlier in the evening when April Kingsbury refused to live with him.

Neighbor Mark Friend, 43, was shot when he came to help after hearing a loud argument between Barr and April Kingsbury at her house about 7:15 p.m.

Geer said Friend squirted Barr with pepper spray, and Barr called for help from an unidentified companion. The companion fired several shots at Friend with what was believed to be a .22-caliber weapon. One round grazed the back of Friend’s right leg.

“It was very minor, a Band-Aid type of wound,” Geer said.

Sheriff Thayer said a former girlfriend of Barr’s and her mother also were present at the shooting. The former girlfriend told officers who had shot Friend. Thayer declined to identify the suspect, who has not been arrested.

Authorities didn’t find out about the shooting at April Kingsbury’s house until they responded to the fatal shooting at Margarita Kingsbury’s home.

Thayer said Barr had a criminal history dating from his childhood in the Northport, Wash., area.

Barr apparently had been away for a number of years and had returned this summer.

, DataTimes