PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A gunman opened fire in the parking lot of a Vancouver elementary school, hurting 2 women in a van, before leading police on a chase that ended when he turned the gun on himself, deputies said.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office said students had already been released and most of them had left the scene when the shooting happened at about 3:15 Tuesday afternoon.
Deputies arrived to find 2 victims in the 2200 block of NE 104th Street.
Officials pursued a man who left the scene in a vehicle.
Deputies said the suspect got out of his car near NE Padden Parkway and NE Andresen Road with a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. He was taken to a hospital. His condition is unclear at this time.
Authorities said there was no longer an active threat to public safety and no active shooter at the school. The school was put on temporary lockdown.
The 2 victims were taken to a hospital but the extent of their injuries is unknown. Two children who were in the backseat of the van were unhurt, said Clark County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Brent Waddell. Another child involved was inside the school at the time of the shooting.
“The school was empty, the school had been let out for the day so there was very few people around,” said Waddell.
Waddell said the shooting was the culmination of an ongoing domestic violence situation and one of the victims had a restraining order against him. The suspect had recently been released from jail, Waddell said.
The area around the school will be closed for an investigation. Padden Parkway and Andresen Road will also be closed.
Waddell said the incident “takes a toll not only on the families that are involved but also the school, people in town, people that witness and the deputies involved.”
Anderson Elementary said in a statement shared with KOIN 6 News: “Our thoughts are with the victims, students, families, staff and the entire Anderson community. We will support them however we can.”
The Clark County Major Crimes team is investigating.
KOIN 6 News will follow this story and provide updates as soon as possible.
