Washington Shooting Spree Targets Police In Three Towns


A shooting spree swept through three towns in Washington state Wednesday night, targeting law enforcement and injuring one officer.

Beginning around 9 p.m. on Wednesday night, a man driving a white pick-up truck targeted police officers in three different towns about 30 miles to the northwest of Seattle, Washington. The suspect, now identified at Hans Hansen, opened fire at a police vehicle in Granite Falls. His Washington shooting spree then continued on to the town of Lake Stevens, where the gunman began shooting at the local police station there. The shooting rampage continued in Marysville, Washington, where an officer and Hansen were both injured.

Around 10 p.m., officers spotted the suspect in the shooting spree, and stopped Hansen when the suspect is said to have opened fire on the officers. Witnesses say he fired at least a dozen shots at the officers before surrendering. One officer, 19-year police veteran of the Marysville police department, Sgt. James Maples, was injured in the shooting spree. He was sent to nearby Everett hospital for treatment, but has since been released from the hospital. The shooting suspect, Hans Hansen, was also injured during the gun fight with officers after the shooting spree, and was admitted to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. No fatalities from the Washington shooting spree were reported.

Several guns were in Hansen’s possession when police detained him, and so far there is no word on regarding his motivation for the shooting spree. It is believed that the Washington shooting spree may have begun at an industrial business park in Granite Falls, where the suspect once had a cabinet making business, before targeting law enforcement in the three town shooting spree.

As police investigate, neighbors of the suspect in the Washington shooting spree tell local reporters that they are at a loss over the events and while they have said that Hansen was having money problems, they can think of no motive for his shooting rampage.

Once Hansen is released from the hospital, it is suspected that he will be facing a number of charges associated with the night’s shooting spree. Further details are unavailable at this time, as authorities can not comment on an ongoing investigation. However, authorities said that they are grateful that no one was killed in the shooting spree.

The Washington shooting spree is one of other recent shootings targeting cops around the country in the past couple of months raising more concerns over gun violence in the U.S.

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