ARLINGTON, Wash. — The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office says multiple bullets were shot at two families, hitting two homes in Arlington.
“Seeing my son run across the street is the hardest thing in the world with gunshots hitting my house,” said Justin Coker.
Coker’s 5-year-old son was among the kids playing outside on Saturday afternoon when gunfire erupted.
Coker says bullets shattered his glass door, struck his fence and playset in his backyard, and even hit his computer, nearly a foot away from where he was standing.
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office identified the shooters as neighbors living a few properties behind Coker’s home.
Here’s what the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said happened:
On Saturday, deputies responded to a shots fired call at approximately 2:45 p.m. Deputies responded and discovered neighbors through the woods on 123rd Ave NE were shooting at a target but were missing the target or using a nonsufficient backstop and struck two nearby residences. This occurred in a legal shooting area, however, due to their recklessness, deputies are referring charges of reckless endangerment. This is still an active investigation.
“There’s no shooting range or public access for people to be shooting back there, and the property owner or the person that’s staying on the property- he’s the one who had his friends come over, and he said it was an ok place to shoot,” said Coker.
Coker says he wants the shooters to be held accountable, not just for his family, but for the Hand family across the street.
“We think there are a few more that hit the roof,” said Tim Hand.
Tim Hand says his home was also hit while he was preparing for his son’s birthday party the following day.
He is thankful that he and his family survived and were uninjured.
“We count our blessings, and we’re very grateful and fortunate,” said Hand.