Deceased suspect identified as 33-year-old Brendan Bo Bowers of Vancouver
VANCOUVER — Sometime after 4 p.m. Tuesday (April 7) a man carrying what law enforcement officials described as a AR-style rifle shot two people off 72nd Avenue in Vancouver during a carjacking according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO).
The two victims have been transported to an area hospital with what are believed to be severe wounds.
The armed suspect in the shooting was later located deceased at 1258 Yale Bridge Road of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a Clark County Sheriff’s Office report.
The Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office has identified the person as a 33-year-old Vancouver man. Brendan Bo Bowers died by suicide from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the coroner’s office.
“9-1-1 received a disturbance with a weapon from residents in the 7400 block of 159th Street. The 9-1-1 caller indicated shots had been fired at the residence and that a suspect had fled the scene,” said CCSO Public Information Officer Sgt. Alex Schoening. “Upon arrival, deputies discovered we had two victims of gunshot wounds. The victims were alive and were transported to an area hospital with undisclosed injuries. The suspect fled the scene prior to our arrival, and it’s an unfolding situation.”
The shooting occurred on the 7400 block of NE 159th Street near the intersection with 72nd. The road is being blocked from 72nd to 82nd Avenue. COVID-19 is not being considered a factor at this time, and will not impede the investigation Schoening said.
“Our deputies are actively looking right now for a suspect,” the sergeant said. “When it comes to matters of people’s lives being harmed with gunfire, we obviously always take universal precautions, but we don’t let coronavirus play into that. Our investigation as far as it being one of the causes for this, I don’t know … Obviously no excuse for violence … when it comes to shooting other people.”
The suspect fled the area in a vehicle and another vehicle was left at the scene in a ditch. People are being asked to avoid the area. The investigation is ongoing and this story will be updated as more information becomes available.
