Northwest Briefs September 25, 2011
Man with two rifles shot, killed
ISSAQUAH, Wash. - A 51-year-old man brandishing two rifles was shot and killed by Issaquah police Saturday after he opened fire on officers near Clark Elementary School late Saturday morning.
Police began received calls about 11:30 a.m. regarding a man who had abandoned his car in the middle of Front Street at the south edge of downtown Issaquah, according to King County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart.
The man was walking down Front Street, the main thoroughfare, near Newport Way, carrying two rifles, Urquhart said.
The man, whose identify was not immediately available, pointed his weapons at people, but did not fire them, as he walked about ? mile to the school.
When police confronted him on a service road leading to the school, he reportedly got on the ground and began shooting.
Some shots were aimed at officers, but others appeared to be random, Urquhart said.
Elk hunter hospitalized after bear attack
IDAHO FALLS - An Idaho elk hunter who apparently stumbled across a bear's resting spot Saturday was hospitalized after the animal bit him and broke his right arm, officials said.
Richard Paini, 40, suffered puncture wounds and an injured left hand along with the broken forearm in the attack at about 9 a.m. He was taken to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.
A hospital spokesman said Paini, of Island Park, was listed in serious condition Saturday afternoon. She declined to release details about the extent of his injuries.
The bear involved in the attack fled after Paini's archery hunting partner, John Stiehl of Island Park, used bear spray to scare off the bear. Stiehl told authorities he believed it was a grizzly bear.
Oregon to kill 2 wolves after calf found dead
PORTLAND, Ore. - The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will kill two wolves from the Imnaha wolf pack after they were blamed for a livestock kill in Eastern Oregon.
The department tracked an adult male wolf with a GPS collar to the location of a calf that was killed earlier this week.
Killing the adult male and a second, uncollared wolf will leave two wolves in the pack. Other wolves from the pack have dispersed to new areas.
The wildlife-advocate group Oregon Wild has protested the proposed kills, saying they are a "major blow" to Oregon's wolf recovery program.
The Imnaha pack has been blamed for 14 livestock kills since mid-2010.
Nation's shortest commute is in Great Falls
GREAT FALLS, Mont. - A new report by the U.S. Census Bureau says people who work in Great Falls have the shortest commute of any city in the nation.
The average time drivers spend going to work in Great Falls is 14.2 minutes, based on data from 2009. That is 20 minutes less than the average commute in New York City, which is the longest in the nation at 34.6 minutes.
Lewiston had the second-shortest commute at 14.7 minutes, followed by Grand Forks, N.D., at 15.1 minutes, Lubbock, Texas, at 15.5 minutes and Missoula at 15.8 minutes.
Missoula also ranked among the top five metro areas with the highest percentage of bicycle commuters at 5 percent.
- The Associated Press