James Gill, 18, was booked on a second-degree manslaughter charge after another 18-year-old died at Hockinson Meadows Community Park.
BRUSH PRAIRIE, Wash. — An 18-year-old man was arrested after another 18-year-old died in a shooting early Saturday during a large gathering of young people at Hockinson Meadows Community Park in Clark County, authorities said.
Clark County sheriff’s deputies were sent to the park at 10910 N.E. 172nd Ave. shortly after 1 a.m. Aug. 15 after receiving a report that an 18-year-old man had been shot. American Medical Response personnel determined that the young man had died at the scene. Authorities had not publicly identified him as of Saturday night.
The initial investigation found that a large group of people, most of them in their late teens, had gathered at the Brush Prairie park before the shooting, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. Several vehicles were leaving the area when deputies arrived with Vancouver police officers and emergency medical personnel.
Witnesses told investigators that a handgun discharged while it was in the hands of 18-year-old James Gill, who authorities described as an acquaintance of the person who died. Investigators recovered a Glock 17 handgun at the scene. The Sheriff’s Office has not released additional details explaining how the weapon discharged or what happened immediately before the shooting.
Gill was taken into custody and booked into the Clark County Jail on a charge of second-degree manslaughter, the Sheriff’s Office said. The charge is an allegation, and authorities have not said that the shooting was intentional. Investigators also have not announced a suspected motive or released information indicating that a dispute preceded the gunfire.
The Sheriff’s Office said its account was based on the initial investigation and witness statements. Officials had not released information about whether other firearms were present, how many people were gathered at the park or whether anyone else was injured. No additional arrests had been announced.
The identity of the 18-year-old who died remained pending release through the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office. The medical examiner is responsible for formally identifying the deceased and determining the cause and manner of death. The Sheriff’s Office referred questions about those findings to that office.
Hockinson Meadows Community Park is in Brush Prairie, an unincorporated community in Clark County northeast of Vancouver. The shooting brought deputies, Vancouver police officers and medical responders to the park during the early-morning hours as investigators began interviewing witnesses and examining the scene.
Authorities said the case remains an active investigation and that no further information was being released Saturday. Gill’s second-degree manslaughter charge will proceed through the court system, while investigators continue working to determine the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting.