Oregon man arrested for firing multiple shots inside Richland hotel room

A 34-year-old Oregon man was arrested Saturday morning after firing at least a dozen rifle shots from inside his Richland hotel room.

The shooting at the Shilo Inn drew the Tri-City Regional SWAT Team and led to the closure of a portion of George Washington Way until Jamin Lewis Harris was in custody.

No one was injured in the incident, which started just before 5 a.m. during an argument with a woman.

Harris is held without bail on suspicion of first-degree assault, second-degree kidnapping, felony harassment and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, according to jail records.

Richland Capt. Jeff Taylor said police were called about a disturbance in a hotel room between a man and a woman.

The woman, whose name was not released, was going to leave the room when Harris allegedly shot a round off from his rifle.

Taylor said he was not sure if the shot was aimed at the woman or in her direction.

The scared woman was able to get out of the room safely and call police.

“As we were responding, the male in the room was apparently having some sort of episode and decided to shoot more rounds into the room,” Taylor said.

Harris fired 10 or more rounds, “not necessarily at anything in particular,” but they did go through walls and doors into the public space, Taylor added. The first concern for officers was to make the scene safe.

Richland police were assisted by West Richland, Pasco, Kennewick and Benton County in locking down the area. SWAT members were called in because Harris had barricaded himself in the room.

The state Department of Transportation also helped in closing the off ramps from Interstate 182 and Highway 240 onto George Washington Way.

No one was injured, though there was property damage, Taylor said. The hotel was not full and officers were able to evacuate a couple in a nearby room.

The woman who’d been in the room with Harris was taken to the police station to be interviewed, while SWAT members negotiated a peaceful surrender with Harris.

Once the scene was cleared, detectives came in to process the room as part of their investigation, Taylor said.

This story was originally published December 3, 2016 at 2:04 PM with the headline "Oregon man arrested for firing multiple shots inside Richland hotel room."