Men shot at while trying to aid woman
By RICK WOOD Staff Reporter
A mysterious call led to a narrow escape for two local men Wednesday morning.
A 25-year-old Camano Island man and a 24-year-old Stanwood man were shot at near Milltown around 1 a.m.
The two men escaped injury but the red 1985 Isuzu pick-up truck they were driving in was struck by several bullets, according to investigators.
Skagit County Sheriff's Office Chief Will Reichardt said deputies responded quickly and met the two victims near the scene of the shooting.
"Deputies observed the pick-up had some rear end damage and also what appeared to be multiple bullet holes in the driver's side of the vehicle as well as the windshield and back window," said Reichardt.
Deputies were told by the men that earlier in the evening they received a phone call from a female acquaintance who advised them that she was with some people who had taken her against her wishes, he said.
The woman allegedly told the men she was on a cell phone hiding in some bushes near Milltown and that she needed them to come pick her up, said Reichardt.
The victims said that when they arrived in the area they located two vehicles associated with the alleged suspects, he said.
"As they approached the cars at least two people started firing guns at them," Reichardt said.
The men fled in their pick-up truck while being shot at and were followed by the two vehicles who continued to chase them on Pioneer Highway and I-5 with shots still being fired, he said.
The men were then rammed by a brown colored Buick, causing them to leave the interstate, said Reichardt. The second suspect vehicle was described as a maroon and gray Subaru Legacy, he said.
Washington State Patrol later reported that a vehicle that had left the southbound lanes of I-5, just north of Starbird Road, may have been involved in a shooting incident.
"Detectives are still working on contacting the shooters," Reichardt said. "We believe we have tentatively identified them but now we have to find them and talk to them."
The woman who made the call to the two victims is currently listed as a missing person, he said.
"We are still not sure if she is a victim, a witness or a suspect," said Reichardt.
