A man working a piece of vacant land in an earthmover was shot in the back Thursday afternoon in Spokane Valley.

Deputies were called about 4:30 p.m. to the lot east of where Cataldo Avenue dead-ends into Adams Road .“He was in the machine working when he was hit,” Spokane County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Deputy Craig Chamberlin said. The man is in stable condition at a local hospital, Chamberlin said.

Deputies located a suspect at a home at 1017 N. Burns Road, which is adjacent to the vacant land. Chamberlin said investigators are trying to determine if the victim was shot with a rifle or a pellet gun. As of Thursday evening the suspect was being questioned and had not been arrested.

“Right now we’re still trying to figure out what happened,” Chamberlin said.

Spokane County assessor records show that the 7.84-acre vacant parcel where the victim was shot is owned by Black Realty. The city of Spokane Valley issued a grading permit on June 6 allowing preparation of the site for 29 residential lots. The work is being done by MDM Excavation.

Black Realty purchased the land from Crosby Family Land LLC for $510,000 in January.