BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Bellingham Police Department (BPD) and several other local law enforcement agencies responded to a report of shots fired in downtown Bellingham on Friday, January 6th, about 8:15pm. More details have been released by BPD regarding that incident and the subsequent arrest.
BPD Lieutenant Claudia Murphy told Whatcom News via email that BPD officers were initially dispatched to a report of a man with a gun who was swearing and yelling at people.
Soon there were shots fired heard which prompted a large response from BPD officers. One of our BPD officers coming into the area heard some of the shots being fired. Two officers were in the area of W. Holly and Commercial Streets and heard a shot coming from near the 100 block of W. Holly. They saw a male matching the description given walking away, the only one who was walking calmly out of the area. They followed, and he began to speed walk away. The officers caught up to him in the 100 block of E. Magnolia and ordered him to the ground in order to safely get him into custody by handcuffing him. One of the officers was able to see a handgun grip in one of his pockets. Bellingham Police Department Lieutenant Claudia Murphy (January 8, 2023)
The person detained was later identified as Anthony August Casimir, age 25, and taken to the station for interviews.
About 12:30am on Saturday, Casimir was booked into Whatcom County Jail by BPD and charged with suspicion of the following crimes.
- carrying a concealed weapon without a permit
- aiming/discharging a firearm
- unlawful carrying/exhibiting/drawing a weapon
- reckless endangerment
According to jail records, the charges are expected to be brought in Bellingham Municipal Court and Casimir remained in custody Sunday morning without the opportunity to post bail pending a preliminary court appearance.