PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Four young men suspected of being involved in a series of drive-by shootings were arrested after leading Southwest Washington authorities on a chase into Oregon early Sunday morning, according to the Kelso Police Department.

The incident began in the Kelso-Longview area and ended with their arrests in Rainier in Columbia County. The 4 arrested include three 18-year-olds and a 20-year-old.

This is one of 3 locations damaged in drive-by shootings in the Kelso area, January 16, 2022 (KOIN)

Police said the sedan the men were driving matched the description of a car spotted leaving three separate drive-by shootings in the Kelso-Longview area. All three shootings happened within about an hour of each other, between 1:13 and 2:13 a.m., KPD said.

At 1:13 a.m., Kelso police said they responded to a report of gunshots near the corner of Cedar Street and South 9th Avenue and a light-colored sedan was seen leaving the area. Officers found evidence of gunfire and a nearby home was damaged, police said.

Then around 1:53 a.m., KPD said they received a second report of shots fired with two cars speeding away from the scene at Long Avenue and West Cowlitz Way. Officers also found evidence of gunfire there, and police later found the second car with bullet holes in it, KPD said.

At 2:13 a.m., the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office responded to another report of shots being fired at an occupied home in the 4100 block of Ocean Beach Highway. Police said a light-colored car was seen fleeing from this area, too.

This map shows where 3 drive-by shootings happened in the Kelso area and where the suspects crossed into Oregon, January 16, 2022 (KOIN)

Cowlitz County deputies and Longview police found who they believed to be the suspect driving the same car, police said, and they tried to pull the driver over. The driver took off and tried to lose the police by speeding across the Lewis & Clark Bridge into Oregon before going the wrong way down Highway 30, according to KPD.

The deputy in pursuit then stopped the car with a PIT, or pursuit intervention technique, and the four men in the car were arrested in Rainier, Oregon in Columbia County.

Columbia County authorities confirmed to KOIN 6 News the men were arrested and charged with unlawful use of a weapon and first-degree attempted assault. The men are:
– 20-year-old Riki Aron Vasquez-Bracken
– 18-year-old Andres G. Gonzalez
– 18-year-old Peterson P. Kasa
– 18-year-old Mateo E. Chavez

No injuries were reported, and an investigation is still ongoing.