Law enforcement responded to a report of shots fired at a group of people from a vehicle in the 2600 block of Haxton Way just past midnight Saturday evening. When everything was settled, two Bellingham men were booked into the Whatcom County Jail on multiple charges including drive-by shooting.
According to a report provided by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, the victims reported the incident began when a subject in a vehicle fired 5 or 6 shots from a .22 rifle at a location with several houses and people nearby. One person said they dove into a parked car to avoid being shot. That victim then fled over a fence and sought help from his brother who was also at the scene.
The suspects fled the scene in a 2007 Volvo S80 sedan with 5 occupants. The victims immediately pursued them in two vehicles. The pursuers were able to box in the suspects’ vehicle in an attempt to stop it. The suspects backed into one of the pursuers’ cars in an attempt to get away but was again boxed in and stopped in the 3400 block of Lummi Shore Road.
Lummi Nation Police arrived and detained all the subjects involved. Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived and handled the investigation after it was determined all subjects were non-tribal. The rifle was located along the roadside where it had been tossed during the chase. One person detained from the suspect vehicle was identified as a 15-year-old female.
No motive had been determined while the case remains under investigation. No persons have been reported injured by gunfire in the incident.
Booked into the Whatcom County Jail were two “confirmed gang associates,”
- Eric J. Miranda, 20, of Bellingham for drive-by shooting, 2nd degree assault, 1st degree unlawful possession of firearm and 2nd degree malicious mischief. The unlawful possession of a firearm charge is related to a prior robbery conviction.
- Miguel A. Miranda, 18, of Bellingham for complicity to commit drive-by shooting, 2nd degree assault and hit-and-run of an attended vehicle.