Two Whatcom County Deputies were shot while responding to an incident between neighbors near Peaceful Valley and SR547. Deputies are being transported to the local hospital. Please avoid the area” Trooper Kenner tweeted. On last Thursday deputies were called around 4:15 p.m. to an area northwest of Bellingham and near Peaceful Valley and State Route 547, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office said.
The caller reported Young was shooting his shotgun in the air toward neighbors. Young is from Maple Falls. Thompson and Rathbun were the first deputies to arrive and reported over their police radios at 4:40 p.m. that one of the men, later identified as Young, was yelling at them and waving a shotgun, say the charges. The deputies identified themselves as members of the Sheriff’s Office and ordered the man to drop his weapon, but he instead fired at the deputies, striking one in the head, Murphy said.
The deputy fell to the ground and the second deputy returned fire before he, too, was shot in the head, she said. Another resident fired a handgun at the man, forcing him to retreat into his house, according to Murphy. The resident then helped the deputies take cover inside a garage and administered aid until additional deputies arrived.A sheriff’s SWAT team was called in and surrounded the house. Police say Young surrendered at 6:06 p.m. and was taken into custody without incident.
On Friday, a judge set bail at $5 million for Joel Young, 60, based on the “seriousness of the alleged offense.”both deputies are under evaluation for potentially losing their eyesight, and one of them might lose their eye. Bellingham police identified the two deputies as Jay Thompson and Ryan Rathbun.
During the investigation, officials learned a confrontation between Young and his next-door neighbor began after smoke from the neighbor’s burning garbage pile wafted into Young’s house and Young became irate when the neighbor refused to put the fire out, according to court records and the Bellingham Police Department, which is leading the officer-involved shooting investigation as a member agency of the Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Response Team.
Because the shooting involved Whatcom County sheriff’s deputies and the Sheriff’s Office operates the Whatcom County Jail, Young is being held in the Skagit County Jail per a mutual aid agreement, said Bellingham police Lt. Claudia Murphy.
