Sheriff: 3 dead, 1 wounded in Washington state shootings

WOODLAND, Wash. – The Clark County Sheriff’s Office said a 35-year-old man suspected of killing three people in a home near Woodland is in custody.

Authorities said Brent Luyster was arrested without incident Saturday afternoon in the deaths of two men and a woman the night before. A second woman is hospitalized with a gunshot wound.

The Columbian newspaper reported Luyster was scheduled for trial Monday in Cowlitz County Superior Court on allegations that he pistol-whipped his ex-girlfriend at his Longview home. He pleaded not guilty in May to charges of assault, harassment and illegal firearm possession.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Fred Neiman said a woman who was shot in the face drove to a convenience store in Woodland around 10:30 p.m. Friday and told deputies she had been shot at a home near Woodland. Neiman said she remained hospitalized.

Members of the sheriff’s office and a regional SWAT team went to the home and found two men dead outside the home and a woman dead inside.

The Oregonian/Oregonlive reported Luyster pleaded guilty in October 2014 for rioting with a weapon after he was accused of making racially motivated threats at a Vancouver, Washington, tavern in March 2013. He allegedly threatened to kill an interracial couple cuddling at the tavern and threatened another black man with a pistol outside the bar. He received a sentence of 90 days in jail.

The Anti-Defamation League, which fights anti-Semitism and other bigotry, has identified Luyster and his brother as white supremacists.