Posted on 05/27/2024 8:54:47 AM PDT by rey
OLYMPIA, Wash. (KOMO) — A man was arrested after police said he threw "softball size rocks" at firefighters who were responding to an active fire in Washington state.
"In the last few weeks there have been several incidents of individuals interfering with Olympia Fire Department personnel responding to emergencies," the Olympia Police Department (OFD) wrote on X Thursday.
The suspect was booked for third-degree assault, police said. Charges have also been referred for suspects in other recent incidents, police added.
In their initial and brief social media news release, police did not mention the alleged assault happened at a giant homeless camp in town called “The Jungle,” which is located in a wooded area.
Thurston County court documents obtained by KOMO detailed the chaos. The documents state that on April 24, firefighters responded to the camp because of a car fire.
There were reports of ammunition inside the car that had potentially exploded, so firefighters kept their distance. For that reason, along with those inside the camp who “are known to be hostile towards first responders,” crews opted to fight the fire from a distance.
Court documents further state that crews used a special water gun to battle the fire. In the process, crews overshot the fire and some of the other spots in the camp got wet. That angered the residents, and a group of people were accused of confronting the firefighters, yelling at them to turn the water off.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsaustin.com ...
Was someone trying to start wildfires?
Any rock thrower, anywhere, should simply be shot with a rubber bullet. Aim for the gut, take ‘em down.
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