3 arrested in connection to ‘Jungle’ encampment shooting, Olympia police say

Three people allegedly connected to a shooting Friday afternoon in the homeless encampment known as the Jungle were arrested on Sunday in the Tri-Cities, according to Olympia police.

The three suspects are a 19-year-old man, a 24-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman, Lt. Paul Lower said Tuesday. A handgun was recovered from one of the suspects, he said.

They were arrested on Sunday and booked into the Thurston County Jail on Monday, Lower said.

About noon on Friday, March 6, police were dispatched to the Martin Way East side of the camp after a report of an assault. Once there, police found a man who had suffered a gunshot wound to his leg.

The victim was taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia where he was treated for his injury. After interviewing him, other witnesses and obtaining video surveillance images, police determined the suspects had confronted the victim in the Jungle, Lower said.

That confrontation included a short, heated argument, Lower said, followed by the sound of a gunshot. The three suspects were allegedly then seen running out of the Jungle and getting into a Dodge Challenger to drive away from the scene.

According to jail roster information, the 19-year-old man was booked on suspicion of first-degree assault while armed with a deadly weapon, the 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of first-degree rendering criminal assistance and the 32-year-old woman also was booked on suspicion of rendering criminal assistance.

The 24-year-old man also was arrested on suspicion of some domestic violence-related crimes and a state Department of Corrections warrant for third-degree assault, jail roster information shows.