Two deputies shot while responding to a neighborhood dispute in Peaceful Valley have been released from the hospital, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.
According to a news release, deputies Ryan Rathbun and Jason Thompson continue to recover after suffering head wounds from shotgun blasts from an incident Thursday afternoon.
Joel Berck Young was charged with two counts of attempted murder in the first degree and booked into Skagit County Jail with a $5 million bail.
An arraignment is scheduled Friday morning before Judge Robert E. Olson in Whatcom County Superior Court.
Rathbun has been with the sheriff’s office for 16 years working as a field training officer and a member of the Criminal Interdiction Team and SWAT team, the news release said.
Thompson, who has been with the department for 13 years, works as a South Lake Whatcom Neighborhood deputy and is a member of the crisis negotiations team.
Both deputies declined to comment Monday through an intermediary.
The Feb. 10 incident began on the 3000 block of Green Valley Drive near Maple Falls when Young became agitated at a neighbor who burned garbage in his backyard, Bellingham police said. Smoke from the fire filled Young’s house.
According to neighbors, Young retrieved a shotgun loaded with birdshot from his home and fired a round toward the house next door about the time children on the street had returned from school.
Once the deputies arrived Young returned to his home and began yelling at the officers, police said. Then Young opened his front door and shot a deputy standing outside his garage. Another deputy returned fire but also was shot by Young.
Witness Peter Marshall told the Cascadia Daily News that six armed neighbors tried to protect the deputies. One neighbor began firing at Young after the second deputy was hit, he said.
Some of the neighbors pulled the deputies into a garage for safety, and residents administered first aid while waiting for help, Marshall said.
One deputy was taken to PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham. The other deputy was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle to receive care from a specialist.
A previous version of this story incorrectly spelled the last name of Jason Thompson. The story was updated to reflect this change Feb. 18, at 10:39 a.m. The Cascadia Daily News regrets the error.
