MOUNT RAINIER?
The suspect in a shooting that left four wounded on New Year's Eve at a Skyway apartment is also a "strong person of interest" in the shooting of Mount Rainier National Park Ranger Margaret Anderson, according to law enforcement sources.
An anonymous law enforcement source said that 24-year-old Benjamin Colton Barnes is a suspect in the Skyway apartment shooting. Pierce County Sheriff's Department independently confirmed that Barnes is a "strong person of interest" in the Skyway shooting.
Law enforcement sources also confirmed they found an abandoned vehicle loaded with weapons, survivalist gear and body armor in Mount Rainier National Park. Pierce County Sheriff's detective Ed Troyer said that it appeared whomever stocked the vehicle was prepared for a violent showdown. It is believed that the suspect has some military training.
Police began reporting via Twitter that Anderson had been shot about 11:15 a.m. Sunday.
The shooting happened near the Longmire Ranger Station in Mount Rainier National Park just before 11 a.m. The park is closed and troopers are at the gate turning people away. At least 125 people who were in the park are spending the night in a visitor center. Police are afraid if they leave, the suspect may attempt to shoot them.
Anderson was shot when she made a felony stop, sources said. The stop occurred approximately 1 mile inside the park near the area known as Paradise.
The suspect shot the ranger and then fled on foot, leaving his vehicle behind. Before responders could reach Anderson, the suspect fired at them, keeping them at bay.
The suspect has a long rifle. Anderson had radioed for help after she had been shot. Sources said that officers reached the remote area by ATVs and snowmobiles.
The Seattle Times reported that a maintenance employee and his co-worker were driving up the road toward Paradise where the incident took place. About 10:30 a.m. they heard on the park's radio system that rangers were pursuing a suspect in a blue vehicle on the same road and they pulled over to let officers pass.
Steve Young told the Times that they then followed the officers and heard that one officer was coming down the road in an attempt to stop the suspect. Soon after, he heard five shots, he told the paper.
Young also said that the ranger's vehicle had its windows shot out and it was then that the ranger began backing down the road.
The website, Officer Down Memorial Page, posted that the suspect had also been stopped by another ranger at the Paradise Ranger Station prior to Anderson's attempt to stop the suspect.
Officers were in the area trying to get to Anderson but the suspect was shooting at them, preventing them from reaching her. No one else was hit from the gunfire, but police were kept at bay by the suspect for 90 minutes.
Washington State Patrol announced via Twitter about 1:20 p.m. that the ranger died from her injuries.?
National Park Service rangers, Pierce County Sheriff's deputies, Washington State Patrol troopers and the FBI are searching for the suspect. A heat-seeking plane is en route from Oregon to help locate the suspect in the mountain terrain.
Police were finally able to retrieve Anderson's body from the area just after 9 p.m.
Anderson was 34 years old, and a resident of Eatonville. She was the mother of two young daughters, ages 4 and 2, and worked as a ranger for the Park Service for about four years. Anderson was married to a fellow ranger and her husband was working Sunday at another location in the park when the shooting took place.??
"My heart goes out to the family of Park Ranger Margaret? Anderson and especially to her husband and two young children," Gov. Christine Gregoire said in a statement. "Her death, in the line of duty, is difficult to comprehend. We are grateful for her service and for the service of the community of park rangers and employees who are no doubt impacted by this senseless tragedy.?
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