One dead after early morning shooting in north Spokane

A man was shot and killed in north Spokane early Sunday morning.

The incident, which occurred in the driveway of a duplex on the corner of Euclid Avenue and Nelson Street near Andrew Rypien Field in Hillyard just before 2:30 a.m., is under ongoing investigation. Following the shooting, officers responded within minutes and rendered first aid, according to a Spokane Police Department news release; however, the victim died as a result of his injuries.

Mateo Elizando, who lives next door to the duplex where the shooting occurred, said he was startled awake at 2:30 a.m. by the sound of two or three gunshots. When he ran outside, he said, he saw a large number of people in the driveway of his neighbor’s house.

He could also hear a woman crying.

“Specifically, I heard a lady screaming about her baby,” he said.

Elizando and other neighbors said the family had moved into the home about 8 months prior. In that time, they said, they only had friendly interactions with them.

As of Sunday afternoon, no arrests had been made, police said.

Officer Joshua Laiva, spokesman for the Spokane Police Department, said that investigators were “following up on every lead they can” to locate a suspect, who was described on initial scanner traffic as fleeing from the home in a vehicle.

Forensics investigators searched the home for evidence Sunday afternoon, taking note of gunshot holes in the side of the building.

Euclid Avenue was closed in both directions until around noon while police investigated.

This story is developing and will be updated.