VANCOUVER, Wash. -- Vancouver police found two men dead outside an apartment building Sunday afternoon.
The call came in around 5:15 p.m. saying shots had been fired in the 1500 block of Northeast 140th Avenue.
Police have not made an arrest, but said they have identified a person of interest. They also announced Monday morning that the victims knew the suspect, but did not release any names.
Neighbor Ben Woodkey said he heard the gunshots and saw the two victims on the ground.
"It wasn't 'bang, bang, bang, bang.' It was 'bang, bang' and then a second, then another couple more after that," said Woodkey.
He said he immediately ran out his back door to see what was going on.
"From right here you could see the guy laying on the ground through the fence," Woodkey said.
He said he also saw a silver car speed away with someone in the driver seat and someone in the passenger seat.
He said he then ran back through the house, told his wife to grab their 3-year-old daughter and call 911. He said he bolted out of the front of his home and around the corner to see two men shot dead near the apartments behind his home.
"There was one laying next to the driver side of a red pickup and one on the other side, laying next to a smaller dark car. There was definitely a vehicle between them," he said.
He said one man looked like he was shot in the head and another in the torso. Woodkey didn't see a gun.
"I just saw the shells, that was it," Woodkey said.
The first man he checked was dead. When he went to check on the second man, what he saw was even more traumatic.
"He just kind of took a long breath and he started choking, and I couldn't watch that. I just had to walk away," said Woodkey.
He said he didn't know what to do.
"I've never in my life seen a dead person or watch somebody die right in front of me. It was pretty traumatic."
Woodkey said his neighborhood is a quiet one, with lots of families and kids running around.
"Never heard anything from anyone back there," he said. "The only time we heard from anyone back there was for a garage sale. It's a quiet neighborhood. Nothing really goes on around here."
