TACOMA, WA - Six people have been injured in a series of shootings on the Interstate 5 freeway in Washington state this week.
The shootings took place in six different incidences, according to ABC News. A communications director for the Washington State Patrol (WSP) described the events as unique by the virtue of their geographic distance from one another.
"The only difference from this and other events that we see across the country in schools and parks and so forth is the area of the shooting was not confined to a very specific place or location," WSP communications director Chris Loftis said of the shootings. One woman was seriously injured after being shot in the spree, according to the New York Times.
Seven vehicles were damaged in the events. A suspect was arrested in Tacoma after midnight, when law enforcement officers tracked them to an apartment building and apprehended them after a brief chase. He was later identified as 44-year-old Eric Perkins, who was charged in King County with five counts of first-degree assault with a firearm.
Multiple shooting victims have described being fired upon from a white Volvo in the incident.
Perkins said he had recently lost his housing in Tacoma, and also had been admitted to a hospital for a mental health evaluation a day prior to the shooting. He stated that he was given a firearm by a friend after confiding that he felt people were "coming after" him.
Additionally, he spoke with police about six hours before he went on the shooting spree, reporting the people allegedly following him.
WSP Chief John R. Batiste pledged to protect the state's roadways from violence in a statement after the mass shooting. "People have the right to travel safely in this state and we are going to protect that right," he said.
Perkins had a scheduled court appearance on Wednesday, but he didn't show up, according to Fox 13 Seattle. Washington law provides defendants the right not to attend their first court appearance.
The shootings took place in six different incidences, according to ABC News. A communications director for the Washington State Patrol (WSP) described the events as unique by the virtue of their geographic distance from one another.
"The only difference from this and other events that we see across the country in schools and parks and so forth is the area of the shooting was not confined to a very specific place or location," WSP communications director Chris Loftis said of the shootings. One woman was seriously injured after being shot in the spree, according to the New York Times.
Seven vehicles were damaged in the events. A suspect was arrested in Tacoma after midnight, when law enforcement officers tracked them to an apartment building and apprehended them after a brief chase. He was later identified as 44-year-old Eric Perkins, who was charged in King County with five counts of first-degree assault with a firearm.
Multiple shooting victims have described being fired upon from a white Volvo in the incident.
Perkins said he had recently lost his housing in Tacoma, and also had been admitted to a hospital for a mental health evaluation a day prior to the shooting. He stated that he was given a firearm by a friend after confiding that he felt people were "coming after" him.
Additionally, he spoke with police about six hours before he went on the shooting spree, reporting the people allegedly following him.
WSP Chief John R. Batiste pledged to protect the state's roadways from violence in a statement after the mass shooting. "People have the right to travel safely in this state and we are going to protect that right," he said.
Perkins had a scheduled court appearance on Wednesday, but he didn't show up, according to Fox 13 Seattle. Washington law provides defendants the right not to attend their first court appearance.
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Comments
2024-09-08T01:51-0400 | Comment by: Trish
That is wrong, not to make the person who received a citation not to attend their first court appearance! Why don’t they have to come to court?