Everett man greeted by gunfire Monday night

By Jim Haley

Herald Writer

EVERETT – Jason Hunter stepped out of his car in front of his parents’ Rucker Hill home Monday night and was greeted by a hail of gunfire.

He slumped to the driveway pavement and used his wireless telephone to call for police and aid units.

Hunter, 25, remained in critical condition Tuesday afternoon in Harborview Medical Center with wounds to his chest, pelvis and both arms, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Police have been tight-lipped about an intensive investigation, other than to say nobody has been taken into custody in connection with the shooting and there’s little immediate evidence.

Asked if it was a random shooting or something else, Everett Police Sgt. Boyd Bryant said: “We don’t know yet. The officers are investigating the case.”

Detectives were at the home in the 1000 block of Charles Avenue, about a block away from Jackson Elementary School on nearby Federal Avenue.

The Hunter home is on a dead-end street at the top of a hill just east of Federal. There’s a set of stairs and a walkway allowing pedestrian access.

Neighbors, some who heard the shots ring out about 8:35 p.m., said they didn’t see another car in the vicinity until a bevy of police and Everett Fire Department vehicles began their arrival within minutes.

The shooting puzzled Josiah Johnson, a longtime friend of Hunter and a fellow graduate of Everett High School in 1994.

“I’m baffled,” said Johnson, who went to Harborview Tuesday to lend his support to the family. “That’s what makes this situation so surreal. “He’s liked by his peers. He’s a great guy and personable. He isn’t the type of guy anyone disliked.”

After graduation, Hunter entered the U.S. Navy. Upon discharge, he returned to Everett, started work and has been attending Edmonds Community College, Johnson said.

He apparently was coming home to visit his parents after his night class when the shooting broke out.

“It just doesn’t make sense,” Johnson said. “he was pretty much on the straight and narrow. It’s very disheartening something like this could happen to him.

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