Briefly

Man arrested after woman attacked

A woman was hospitalized Thursday evening after a man she lives with attempted to strangle her, then beat her with a can of hairspray in their South Hill apartment, Spokane Police said.

Officers were called to The Oxford apartment building, 702 S. Bernard Ave., about 4:45 p.m., Cpl. Jon Strickland said.

The woman told officers that she met the man in September at the psychiatric ward of Sacred Heart Medical Center, Strickland said. The two, whose names were not released, moved in together about two weeks ago.

When the woman entered her apartment Thursday evening, it was completely dark, Strickland said. The victim told police that she went to the bedroom where the man attacked her by wrapping a piece of cloth around her neck and attempting to strangle her.

When the woman fought back, he grabbed a can of hair spray and began beating her on the face and head, Strickland said.

“It looked like it was a pretty violent struggle,” he said.

The victim got away, and she went to a neighbor’s apartment, Strickland said.

The woman was taken by ambulance to Sacred Heart Medical Center. She had severe cuts on her head and face, but her injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, Strickland said.

Strickland said police found the man, covered with blood – mostly from the victim – outside the building.

“He admits to us that he went ballistic and really doesn’t have a reason right now,” Strickland said.

The alleged attacker was arrested and taken to a local medical center for treatment.

Grease fire damages Valley home

Fourteen-year-old Michael Puckett stood shivering on his lawn in his bare feet Friday afternoon after a grease fire sent part of his kitchen up in flames.

Puckett said the fire in his Spokane Valley home at 216 N. Skipworth Road began after he cooked french fries on the stove and mistakenly turned the burner to high instead of off. He was on the couch in the living room and family friend Jason Reece was taking a shower when Puckett noticed smoke. The flames had engulfed the kitchen cabinet and the ceiling was on fire. “It was getting pretty huge,” he said. “It was spreading fast.”

Reece grabbed a garden hose and sprayed down the area surrounding the fire while Puckett went next door for a fire extinguisher. “I wrapped a rag around my face,” said Reece. “I had a towel and shoes on.”

Reece said he got a light burn on his back. “It feels like a sunburn,” he said. Both wrapped themselves in blankets provided by Valley Fire while firefighters extinguished the fire. Firefighters had to pull down a portion of the ceiling and part of the wall to make sure the fire hadn’t spread, said Capt. Bruce Hamner of Valley Fire. The family won’t be able to stay in the house because of the fire damage, he said.

Hamner said fire crews don’t recommend that people try to put out the fire themselves. “They jeopardized their safety,” he said.

Puckett admits that staying to fight the fire probably wasn’t the best idea. “We weren’t thinking about us,” he said. “We were really lucky.”

Shots fired into North Spokane home

Several shots were fired Friday morning into a north Spokane residence, Spokane Police reported.

No one was hit by the bullets, which were fired about 5 a.m. in the 3600 block of N. Ralph Street, said police spokesman Dick Cottam in a press release.

A small, white, four-door car was seen in the area about the same time as the shooting, but police do not have confirmation that it was involved in the incident, Cottam said.

Police do not believe the shooting was random.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Check at 456-2233.

Washington state, Oregon tribes sign accord

Squaxin Island, Wash. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation have signed an accord with Washington state, paving the way for cooperation between the two parties.

The Umatillas signed the accord Thursday following the annual meeting between Washington Gov. Gary Locke and tribes, the tribes announced in a news release Friday.

The accord was modeled after similar agreements reached by Washington state and federally recognized tribes within the state. The agreements formalize the commitment by tribes and the state to work on a government to government basis.

The Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho also was a party to the new accord, the Umatillas said.

The Umatillas retain and exercise rights to resources in Washington state under an 1855 treaty. The tribes own the more than 8,400-acre Rainwater Wildlife Area south of Dayton.

Teaching assistant gives dog food to children

Tacoma A teaching assistant gave some preschoolers dog food to eat during a play-acting exercise at Northeast Tacoma Elementary School.

A Tacoma School District spokeswoman said the children spat out the dry dog food and no one suffered any ill effects.

The teaching assistant has been placed on paid leave pending an investigation.

District spokeswoman Patti Holmgren said it happened Monday in an early education class while the supervisor was out of the room.

When a few of the students pretended to be puppies, getting down on their hands and knees and barking, the assistant attempted to encourage their playacting. She fetched a packet of dry dog food from another room and placed bits on paper plates on the floor.

The dog food came from a display intended to teach the preschoolers what not to eat, Holmgren said.

School Principal Pat Flores learned about the incident Tuesday after a parent complained. In a letter sent Wednesday to parents, Flores called the event “unfortunate.”