Man possibly shot while neighbors were target shooting southwest of Spokane

Target shooting apparently resulted in a man being shot Friday afternoon southwest of Spokane, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded to a reported possible shooting around 2 p.m. on the 6800 block of South Assembly Road, which is about 7 miles from downtown Spokane, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. The caller reported her husband was outside while their neighbors were target shooting and she believed her husband had been accidentally shot.

Deputies arrived and contacted the wounded man, who had an injury to his upper torso, deputies said. He was conscious, alert and received medical treatment before he was taken to a hospital.

No one was arrested as of about 4 p.m., the release said. The incident is under investigation.

Mike LaScuola, who lives across the street from where the shooting occurred, said the gunfire was loud and very rapid. He estimated at least 50 rounds were fired in about a 20-minute period. LaScuola, who was working from home, said he was frightened because he was unsure which direction the bullets were flying.

Then, several first responders raced by his house. He said he did not know someone was injured.

Although the area is rural, LaScuola said development and vehicular and pedestrian traffic has increased over the almost four decades he has lived at his Assembly Road home, to the point where he believes target shooting is no longer safe. He said schools are nearby, too. Windsor Elementary School and Westwood Middle School, both in the Cheney School District, are about 1 mile from where the shooting occurred.

Still, target shooting “ebbs and flows” in the area, he said.

“It’s ludicrous to even consider target shooting in this area even though we are out on 5- and 10-acre parcels,” LaScuola said.