An 18-year-old Bellingham man and a 17-year-old male were arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting near Custer in the early morning hours of Monday, July 24, according to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.
At 1:15 a.m. Monday, sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of a victim being shot in the leg in the 900 block of Willeys Lake Road.
Officers found two bullet holes in the victim’s bedroom window and a third bullet hole in the siding of the house. The female victim, whose condition is unknown, was transported to PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center.
At around 1:45 a.m., Ferndale police received reports of shots fired in the Eastgate Loop area of Ferndale. A resident’s surveillance camera captured video of the suspect’s vehicle.
At 2:15 a.m., Bellingham police found a vehicle matching the description, stopped it and detained the adult and juvenile.
The 18-year-old “admitted to driving in the area of Custer … when his passenger … presented a handgun and fired several shots out of the window,” sheriff’s office spokesperson Deb Slater said in an email. The 18-year-old “said he then drove to the Ferndale area where the juvenile passenger again fired shots outside the truck window.”
A handgun and several shell casings were recovered from the vehicle where the passenger was sitting.
The 18-year-old and the juvenile were both arrested on suspicion of drive-by shooting, while the juvenile was also arrested on suspicion of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
The two suspects were charged with additional counts of drive-by shooting, second-degree assault and possession of a stolen firearm after Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office connected them to a separate shooting that occurred Monday morning in Blaine.
The juvenile was booked into juvenile detention and the 18-year-old was booked into Whatcom County Jail.
This story was updated at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, July 25 to include the connection between the Ferndale shooting and a Blaine shooting.
