Clark County deputies are searching for a shooting suspect who remains on the run after gunfire erupted near an apartment complex on St. Johns Road in the Minnehaha neighborhood, just north of SR-500. The investigation was actively underway Wednesday, with deputies urging nearby residents to avoid the area while they work the scene.
According to KATU, deputies are investigating a shooting that occurred near an apartment complex on St. Johns Road, and the suspect had not been located as of the station's report. Deputies asked people to avoid the area as the investigation continues, the station noted, without providing further detail on the suspect's description or a motive for the shooting.
The stretch of St. Johns Road where the shooting happened sits in Minnehaha, an unincorporated pocket of Clark County that is bordered on three sides by the city of Vancouver and is home to an estimated 12,613 residents across just 2.2 square miles, according to World Population Review. The corridor runs alongside State Route 500, a 22.6-mile highway connecting Interstate 5 to Interstate 205 that handles heavy commuter traffic through central Vancouver, per Wikipedia's entry on the route.
A Corridor With a History of Violent Incidents
This is not the first time gunfire has sent deputies scrambling through the Minnehaha area. In April 2020, deputies responded to a drive-by shooting near Northeast St. Johns Road that ended in a vehicle crash and a foot pursuit across the neighborhood, with witnesses telling The Reflector that the suspects had met at a nearby gas station before the shooting. Less than two years later, in February 2022, a high-speed chase following a shooting near Northeast St. Johns Road and 68th Street ended in a crash and a multi-agency search that ultimately captured three suspects, according to the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office; one of those suspects was sentenced in 2024 to 150 months in prison.
The neighborhood has also seen recent property crime activity, with Hoodline previously covering a Minnehaha robbery manhunt in March. Wednesday's shooting adds to a string of firearm incidents across unincorporated Clark County this month, including a dirt bike dispute that ended in gunfire earlier in August and a fatal shooting at a Brush Prairie park that led to charges against an 18-year-old.
Staffing Gains for the County's Oldest Law Enforcement Agency
The Clark County Sheriff's Office, founded in 1849 and the oldest law enforcement agency in Washington State, has historically struggled with thin staffing relative to its population. A 2024 report found Clark County ranked lowest in the state for law enforcement employees per capita, but Sheriff John Horch reported in January that the department's vacancy rate dropped below 10% in 2025 after hiring 23 new deputies, as reported by The Reflector. The Clark County Council also approved adding 22 more enforcement deputies starting this year, giving the agency more resources for exactly the kind of active manhunt now unfolding in Minnehaha.
Regional 911 dispatch and coordination for sheriff's office responses run through the Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency, an interlocal public development authority that services all of Clark County and its seven incorporated cities. That infrastructure would typically support the kind of multi-unit containment effort deputies have used in past St. Johns Road incidents.
Roadwork Adds to the Backdrop
The shooting also comes as the City of Vancouver carries out a 2026 pavement management and safety project along the St. Johns Road corridor between Northeast Petticoat Lane and Minnehaha Street, which includes new protected mobility lanes and upgraded ADA curb ramps. St. Johns Road functions as a primary north-south arterial through the area, meaning any extended search or road closure tied to the shooting could compound the disruption already caused by ongoing construction.
Under Washington law, a suspect found to have committed first-degree assault with a firearm could face a Class A felony carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a fine of up to $50,000, per the state legislature's published statute. If the shooting is determined to have involved a vehicle, drive-by shooting is classified separately under state law as a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. No charges had been announced as of the initial report, and the suspect's identity and the circumstances that led to the shooting remain unknown.
-4.webp?w=160&h=400&fit=crop&crop=edges)
