SEKIU — A Clallam County sheriff’s deputy and another man were wounded Monday in a shooting near Ray’s Grocery between Neah Bay and Sekiu on the Olympic Peninsula.
Sheriff Bill Benedict told The Peninsula Daily News that deputy Bill Cortani, an 18-year department veteran, was injured while responding to a trespassing call.
Cortani, 41, of Forks, was shot in the arm and hip. He was wearing a protective vest, Washington State Patrol trooper Krista Hedstrom said.
The second man was identified as Scott L. Davis, 59, of Silverdale, State Patrol Sgt. Kristene O’Shannon said Monday night. The State Patrol said Davis was hit numerous times.
Both men were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Davis, in critical condition, was taken to surgery Monday night, a Harborview nursing supervisor said, adding Cortani was in good condition and was stable.
Cortani had responded to a report of a stranger in an abandoned house along Highway 112 near the grocery, Hedstrom said.
Undersheriff Ron Peregrin described what happened next to KOMO-TV: “The deputy tried everything he could with verbal commands, but he (the intruder) was just not hearing it. And then he went for a gun and started firing at our deputy.”
The deputy radioed to say he had a person in custody and then called to report that the pair had exchanged gunshots.
Sue Sperline, owner of the cabin, said a neighbor had called and told her someone was staying in the little house.
State Patrol detectives will investigate the shooting, in partnership with the sheriff’s office, Hedstrom said.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
