Washington man helped save lives of two wounded deputies; ' I drop an entire magazine at this guy'

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A Washington State man who helped save the lives of two deputies during a shooting in which they were wounded last week said he used “an entire magazine” on the suspect. 

The deputies with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office were responding to reports of a neighborhood dispute on Feb. 10 in Maple Falls in which Joel Young was allegedly shooting his shotgun into the air at neighbors. Once at the scene, Young yelled and waved his weapon around, authorities said. 

Whatcom County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Thompson was one of two deputies shot by a Washington man, authorities said. 
(GoFundMe via KCPQ)

The deputies determined that he appeared to be intoxicated because of his speech and actions, they said. 

At some point, deputies Jason Thompson and Ryan Rathbun were allegedly shot. Cody Deeter, who lives a few houses down from Young, told Fox affiliate KCPQ-TV that he was outside at the time. 

“You hear a shot ring out, and officer Thompson fell backwards,” he told the news outlet. “We got the kids inside and went in and got our weapons.” 

He said the other was shot while responding to his wounded partner. 

“That’s when I stepped around the corner, and I drop an entire magazine at this guy,” he said.

Whatcom County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Rathbun,
(GoFundMe via KCPQ)

He said he helped pull the first deputy out of the line of fire and all three took cover in a garage until backup arrived. Young later surrendered and was taken into custody by the Bellingham Police Department.

Investigators determined Young was at home drinking when a neighbor began burning a garbage pile. He became enraged when smoke filled his home, authorities said. When he complained, the neighbor allegedly yelled a profanity at him. 

In response, Young retrieved his shotgun, loaded with birdshot ammunition, and fired into the air toward the neighbor, investigators said. He then went back inside the house and allegedly had a beer before authorities arrived. 

“We are ever so grateful the WCSO deputies are in stable condition and that no residents were injured,” said Bellingham Police Chief Flo Simon.

The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office station.
(Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office)

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Young is charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and is being held on $5 million bond. 

Both deputies were released from the hospital and are recovering, the Sheriff’s Office said. Rathbun has been with the agency for 16 years while Thompson is a 13-year veteran of the force and is a member of the Crisis Negotiations Team.

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