Out-of-town murder suspect caught in Richland after arriving at hospital with bullet wound

A 14-year-old Moses Lake murder suspect was arrested after turning up at a Richland hospital with a gunshot wound.

The Mattawa teen is one of three people suspected in killing a 14-year-old boy and wounding three teens and an adult on Friday, March 21.

The five people were traveling to pick someone up when they were shot on the 500 block of Loop Drive about 9:15 p.m. in the small central Washington city, the Moses Lake police said in a Facebook post.

Everyone in the car was treated at Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake .

The motive of the shooting has not been shared, but investigators have said the victims don’t have gang affiliations or history of crimes.

Police found the car linked to the shooting suspects about two hours later in a neighborhood about a mile north on Buell Road. Police also searched a home where the car was discovered after getting a warrant.

Police have identified three suspects, but haven’t released any information on two of them.

One of them, the 14-year-old from Mattawa, went to Kadlec on Monday, March 24, to get treated for a self-inflicted gunshot wound that he received during the shooting, Moses Lake police said in a Facebook post.

The teen was booked into juvenile detention on investigation of first-degree murder.

The U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force helped with the arrest.

They are working closely with the police department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the state Department of Corrections, the FBI and the U.S. Border Patrol.

The U.S. Marshals Service said arrest warrants were issued for two unnamed suspects on charges of first-degree murder, five counts of first-degree assault and felon in possession of a firearm.

The Marshals Service is offering a $5,000 reward per fugitive for any information leading directly to their arrests, but no names were given.

This story was originally published March 26, 2025 at 12:51 PM.