King County Sheriff’s detectives have confirmed that the man who shot a park ranger to death Sunday at Mount Rainier National Park was one of the men involved in a shooting earlier in the morning on West Hill.
The West Hill shooting near Renton at about 3 a.m. left four people injured, including two critically. At least two gunmen fired multiple rounds into the air, including Benjamin Colton Barnes, 24, who killed Ranger Margaret Anderson later Sunday morning.
Detectives with the King County Sheriff’s Office have interviewed witnesses, but as of mid-Tuesday had not been able to talk with the victims. Two were in critical condition and two in stable condition Tuesday at Harborview Medical Center.
“It is unclear at this point who shot first and who was shot by whom,” said Sgt. Cindi West, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office. Detectives are still processing forensic evidence, she said.
The Sheriff’s Office released additional information Tuesday about the New Year’s shooting in the 6200 block of South 117th Place on West Hill.
About nine people were at the party. At some point, there was a “show and tell” of guns and at midnight New Year’s Day at least two people fired multiple rounds into the air, according to West.
Just before 3 a.m. one of the men the party asked to see a gun belonging to another person. He refused to give back the gun when asked and a shootout started involving at least two people. Barnes was one of those who pulled a gun and fired.
Barnes and two other subjects left the house after the shooting. Detectives spent most of the day talking to witnesses and trying to identify and locate those who had fled the house.
Two of the subjects were located and detectives were working with Barnes’ family to convince him to come to the police to tell his side of the story, according to West.
Barnes, still armed, had driven to Mount Rainier National Park. According to media reports, he drove through a park checkpoint where rangers were checking to ensure that vehicles were properly equipped to drive in winter conditions.
He was stopped by rangers later and it was then that he shot Anderson. Barnes’ body was found not far away partially submerged in a creek. According to media reports, it’s likely he died of exposure.