Gunman Slain After Killing 2, Wounding at Least 20 at AF Base

A man armed with an assault rifle opened fire at Fairchild Air Force Base hospital Monday, killing two people and wounding more than 20 others before military police shot him to death.

The gunman, armed with an AK-47, was killed in a parking lot outside the hospital, said Spokane County Sheriff Larry Erickson.

The gunman was not immediately identified, and his motive had not been learned.

“I kept hearing these popping noises,” said Rebecka Vanover, who lives in a base housing area across the street from the hospital. “They sounded almost like firecrackers but they were dull. It was really a madhouse, all these sirens going on.”

Todd Boyle, who also lives across the street, said he heard gunshots, looked out his front door and saw a man dressed in black fall.

Five people, including a 3-year-old boy, were admitted to Deaconess Medical Center for treatment of gunshot wounds. Three other people were admitted to Sacred Heart Medical Center.

At the base, emergency vehicles were clustered along a road near the hospital, and several women with children gathered near the base’s perimeter.

Fairchild Air Force Base, 10 miles west of Spokane, is a former bomber base that is being converted to an air refueling base.