Shooting in Hillyard neighborhood sends man to the hospital with serious injuries

A man is in serious condition in the hospital after he was shot in Harmon Park in the Hillyard neighborhood Monday night. Police had not arrested any suspects as of late Tuesday.

At about 10:30 p.m., Spokane Police Department officers responded to reports of gunshots in the park and found an adult male with multiple gunshot wounds. Officers began treating the victim until paramedics arrived and took him to the hospital, where he remains in serious condition, according to a news release by the Spokane Police Department.

Police have collected evidence and interviewed residents in the area but have not determined the relationship between the victim and the shooter, the news release stated.

Police did not name the victim Tuesday.

Amanda Bafaro lives in a house bordering the south end of Harmon Park, and she said she heard five or six gunshots at about 10:30 p.m.

Her neighbor, Lori Bunch, said she heard the gunshots and about 10 cars screeching out of the area afterward.

Bafaro and Bunch both reported seeing an altercation at about 7 p.m. between a group of youths from the skate park and two men, who appeared to be on drugs, in the women’s bathroom in Harmon Park, they said.

Aaron Schissus, Bafaro’s fiance, said he saw a young man come from the skatepark looking agitated and walking toward the public bathrooms. A few groups of people were following him.

The young man went into the men’s bathroom in the park and then came out. Three other young men then went into the women’s bathroom. He saw two men who appeared to be on drugs, and one of their dogs, run out of the women’s bathroom being chased by the group of young men from the skate park, he said. One of the young men kicked the dog, he said.

A short time later, one of the men returned with a hand-held power tool and threatened to kill the young man, who returned the threats of violence. The argument ended with no apparent injuries, they said.

Police responded to the altercation, said Schissus and Bafaro, who said they plan to install security cameras on their house following the criminal activity.

Schissus, Bafaro and Bunch said they weren’t sure if the events were related.

The Spokane Police Department did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Bunch said the number of homeless people and drug use in the park has spiked within the last few years and that she’s ready to sell her house because of it.

“The park has become a drug haven,” Bunch said. “It’s really sad.”

On Tuesday morning, dried blood stained North Regal Street to the west of the park, where Bafaro said she saw police tape and the majority of the police presence after the shooting.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233 and use reference No. 2019-20157131.