SHELTON, Wash. — Police responded to three separate shootings in less than four hours in Shelton on Saturday night.
According to the Shelton Police Department, the first shooting occurred at about 8 p.m. near East Fir Street and Otter Street.
Upon arriving at the scene, officers found a victim in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds. They were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center for treatment, according to Central Mason Fire & EMS.
A second victim was declared dead at the scene.
Police later identified and located a car in connection to the incident.
Officers also detained three juveniles who were believed to be involved in the shooting. They were arrested on unrelated charges, and investigators have since determined they are not the homicide suspects.
The second shooting occurred at about 11:20 p.m. in the 200 block of East B Street in the Hillcrest neighborhood. No injuries were reported.
The third shooting occurred about 15 minutes later in the 1000 block of Ellinor Avenue. One person was injured in this shooting.
They were transported by ambulance to Capital Medical Center in Olympia in stable condition.
Two men, later identified by the SPD as Sebastian Ahilon-Escalante and Eric Jose Carillo Mendoza, were arrested for second-degree assault and illegal possession of firearms.
The Mason County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington State Patrol assisted the SPD in responding to these incidents.
Police are continuing to investigate these shootings and are working to determine if they were related. Based on its initial investigation, the SPD believes the victims and locations were intentional targets and not random acts of violence.