Two shot at Washington state school in suspected domestic violence incident

[November 27, 2019]    (Reuters) - A man shot two adults on Tuesday in the parking lot of a Vancouver, Washington, elementary school before being pursued by police and shooting himself in the head, in what authorities described as a domestic violence situation.

No students or staff members were injured in the incident outside the Sarah J. Anderson Elementary School, the Clark County Sheriff's Office and Vancouver school authorities said.

The shootings took place around 3:15 p.m. PST when a man walked up to a parked car and shot through the window, Clark County Sheriff's Office Sergeant Brent Waddell told reporters.

Police got a description of the suspect and his vehicle and took pursuit. The suspect later stopped and got out, Waddell said.

"When he was challenged by deputies, he actually put a gun to his head and shot himself," Waddell said.

Waddell declined to comment on the condition of the victims or the suspect, saying only that all three had been taken to a hospital.

There was a restraining order between the suspect and one of the victims and the suspect was released from jail a few days ago, Waddell said.

Two children were in the car at the time of the shooting and were taken inside the school physically unhurt, he said. Another child connected with the victims was inside the school during the incident.

(Reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall and Peter Cooney)

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