Sunnyside violence spills over into Richland. Few details clear

Yakima County investigators are still trying to figure out if a man who arrived in Richland with a gunshot wound is connected with two shooting victims in Sunnyside this week.

One of the men died after his girlfriend rushed him to the hospital.

Lance Ornelas’ girlfriend called 911 at 11:29 p.m. Monday to say her boyfriend had been shot but she couldn’t tell dispatchers where she was.

A short time later, she arrived at Astria Sunnyside Hospital with Ornelas. He died soon after.

Investigators linked his shooting to a Sunnyside home on the 200 block of Morse Road, but it’s unclear how the home is connected.

A second victim, a 32-year-old Moses Lake man, arrived separately at the Sunnyside hospital with serious, but not life-threatening gunshot wounds.

Yakima County sheriff’s officials initially reported he was from Pasco.

On Tuesday afternoon, another gunshot victim from Sunnyside ended up in a Richland hospital, said Sgt. Jerrold Towell.

It’s still unclear if that shooting is connected to what happened the day before and Towell would not confirm if it was the same man picked up by an ambulance at a Richland gas station at Queensgate Drive and Keene Road.

A family member was driving to a Tri-City hospital but stopped and called 911 when he worried he wouldn’t make it in time to save him, said Richland police Sgt. Jarin Whitby.

Deputies are not releasing the names of the other two shooting victims.

The Yakima County Sheriff’s Office said Sunnyside, Grandview, Mabton, Kennewick and Richland police along with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office have been helping with the case.

This story was originally published January 18, 2018 at 7:59 PM with the headline "Sunnyside violence spills over into Richland. Few details clear."