A welfare check at a Vancouver apartment complex turned up a grim discovery Tuesday night: a man and a woman dead from gunshot wounds, in a case police are now investigating as a murder-suicide. Officers were called to the 2600 block of NE Neals Lane at around 10:45 p.m. after family members grew worried when the woman failed to show up for work and stopped responding to calls.
According to the City of Vancouver, a family member told police that her sister lived at the apartment with her boyfriend, had missed work that day, and had gone silent — prompting relatives to act. Friends and family had already gone to the complex earlier that day, spotted the woman's car still parked in the lot, and knocked on the door, but no one answered, the city said.
Officers Found Both Victims Inside
When officers finally made entry into the apartment, they located a man and a woman with gunshot wounds. Both were pronounced deceased at the scene, the city's statement said. The Vancouver Police Department's Major Crimes Unit has since taken over the investigation and is treating the deaths as a murder-suicide, though the city's account does not say who fired the shots, what led up to the violence, or whether the two had any history of conflict.
The Clark County Medical Examiner's Office is expected to release the official cause and manner of death, along with the identities of both people, at a later date, per the city's statement. As of now, those details remain unconfirmed, and KATU similarly reported that the medical examiner is still determining the cause and manner of the deaths.
Not the First Case This Year
This is not the only murder-suicide Vancouver police have investigated in recent months. In August, two men were found dead inside a central Vancouver home on a Sunday night, a case detailed by The Columbian. In that earlier incident, officers had responded to a disturbance involving a weapon at 5:34 p.m. in the 6100 block of Northeast 77th Avenue after callers reported seeing a man with a gun walk into a home, followed by multiple gunshots.
No arrests have been announced in connection with Tuesday's deaths on Neals Lane, and police have not indicated whether a note or other evidence was recovered from the scene. The investigation remains active, with the Major Crimes Unit continuing to work the case alongside the medical examiner's office.
Anyone experiencing a domestic violence crisis or in need of support can reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.
