Mt. Rainier ranger shot to death, gunman sought

[LongWire]

Tragic..............

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...5b3886c56591c3
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Mt. Rainier ranger shot to death, gunman sought

By MIKE BAKER, Associated Press – 49 minutes ago

MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. (AP) — A Mount Rainier National Park ranger was fatally shot following a New Year's Day traffic stop, and the 368-square-mile park in Washington state was closed as dozens of officers searched for the armed gunman over snowy and rugged terrain.

Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said late Sunday afternoon Benjamin Colton Barnes, a 24-year-old believed to have survivalist skills, was a "strong person of interest" in the slaying of Margaret Anderson. A parks spokesman said Barnes was an Iraq war veteran, and the mother of his child had alleged he suffered from post-traumatic stress following his deployments. Authorities recovered his vehicle, which had weapons and body armor inside, Troyer said.

Barnes was also a suspect in the early Sunday morning shooting of four people at a house party south of Seattle, police said.

Authorities believed the gunman was still in the woods, with weapons. They asked people to stay away from the park, and for those already inside to leave.

"We do have a very hot and dangerous situation," Troyer said.

Tactical responders wearing crampons and snowshoes were pursuing what appeared to be the gunman's tracks in the snow, Troyer said. Those tracks went into creeks and other waterways, making it more difficult for crews to follow.

"He's intentionally trying to get out of the snow," Troyer said.

Meanwhile, an aircraft with heat-sensing capabilities was scanning overhead, Troyer said.

Barnes was involved in a custody dispute in Tacoma in July 2011, during which the toddler's mother sought a temporary restraining order against him, according to court documents. In an affidavit, the woman wrote that Barnes was suicidal and possibly suffered from PTSD after deploying to Iraq in 2007-2008. She said he gets easily irritated, angry and depressed and keeps an arsenal of weapons in his home.

Authorities planned to conduct early-morning evacuations of the 125 people stranded inside a park visitor's center, Troyer said. Visitors would be able to leave in their own vehicles, with law enforcement escorts.

Crews had initially planned to keep everyone quarantined in a basement with guards. All remaining visitors are expected to be off the mountain by 4 a.m., Troyer said.

"They're thinking now that it might be better to do it under the cover of darkness than daylight," Troyer said.

The park would remain closed Monday, officials announced late Sunday.

Jason Simpson, 29, of Kent, said his parents were still trapped at the visitor's center after traveling to the mountain for a day hike. His parents were able to make a call explaining their situation, and Simpson drove to the park entrance to wait.

"It's very distressing," Simpson said.

Sgt. Cindi West, King County Sheriff's spokesperson, said late Sunday that Barnes was connected to an early-morning shooting at a New Year's house party in Skyway, Wash., south of Seattle that left four people injured, two critically. That incident happened about 3 a.m., and stemmed from an argument over a gun.

West said three people fled the scene. Two were located, and West said authorities were trying to find Barnes and had been in contact with his family, trying to have them convince him to "come to the police and tell his side of the story" in the Skyway shooting.

At Mount Rainier around 10:20 a.m. Sunday, Bacher said the gunman had sped past a checkpoint to make sure vehicles have tire chains, which are sometimes necessary in snowy conditions. One ranger began following him while Anderson, a 34-year-old mother of two young children who was married to another Mount Rainier park ranger, eventually blocked the road to stop the driver.

Before fleeing, the gunman fired shots at both Anderson and the ranger that trailed him, but only Anderson was hit, Bacher said. Anderson would've been armed, as she was one of the rangers tasked with law enforcement, Bacher said. Troyer said she was shot before she had even exited the vehicle.

About 150 officers, including officials from the Washington State Patrol, U.S. Forest Service and FBI, were on the mountain.

A SWAT team was able to remove Anderson's body from the mountain late Sunday night, with a procession of law enforcement vehicles escorting her remains away.

Park superintendent Randy King said Anderson had served as a park ranger for about four years. King said Anderson's husband also was working as a ranger elsewhere in the park at the time of the shooting.

"It's just a huge tragedy — for the family, the park and the park service," he said.

Adam Norton, a neighbor of Anderson's in the small town of Eatonville, Wash., said the ranger's family moved in about a year ago. He said they were not around much, but when they were Norton would see Anderson outside with her girls.

"They just seemed like the perfect family," he said.

The town of about 3,000 residents, which is a logging community overlooking Mount Rainier, is very close knit, he said.

"It's really sad right now," Norton said. "We take care of each other."

It has been legal for people to take loaded firearms into Mount Rainier since 2010, when a controversial federal law went into effect that made possession of firearms in national parks subject to state gun laws.

The shooting occurred on an unseasonably sunny and mild day. The park, which offers miles of wooded trails and spectacular vistas from which to see 14,410-foot Mount Rainier, draws between 1.5 million and 2 million visitors each year.

The Longmire station served as headquarters when the national park was established in 1899. Park headquarters have moved but the site still contains a museum, a hotel, restaurant and gift shop, which are open year-round.

Associated Press writer Donna Gordon Blankinship contributed from Seattle.

Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[x SF med]

We've been following this on the local news, the suspect has Aryan, gang and other tattoos - one of which is of 4 of the 7 deadly sins, on the back of his neck - Pride, Lust, Gluttony, and Avarice IIRC...

[BigJimCalhoun]

Originally Posted by x SF med

We've been following this on the local news, the suspect has Aryan, gang and other tattoos - one of which is of 4 of the 7 deadly sins, on the back of his neck - Pride, Lust, Gluttony, and Avarice IIRC...

Interesting.... I have not been following it that closely, but I did see the picture of the Saiga-12 with the 10 round mag, implying that is the gun that was used due to its prominent placement in the article.

[x SF med]

Originally Posted by BigJimCalhoun

Interesting.... I have not been following it that closely, but I did see the picture of the Saiga-12 with the 10 round mag, implying that is the gun that was used due to its prominent placement in the article.

when they showed the Park Ranger SUV, it had been riddled by something other than a shotgun, the body metal did not have the distinctive buckshot nor slug deformation... It looked more like medium caliber (5.56- .30cal) punctures.

On the news here they showed a couple of photos of him with guns - the Saiga, a mac 10, an AR style and a hunting rifle - it was harder to tell what it was.

[Utah Bob]

Hard to say exactly what weapon he used at this early stage of the investigation. Doesn't really matter.
May Ranger Anderson Rest in Peace. My heart goes out to her family.
I hope the weather turns bad and they find the puke's frozen corpse in the spring without anyone else being shot.

[Red Flag 1]

Rest In God's Peace Ranger Anderson.

[PedOncoDoc]

If this is the case, justice has been served.

Rest in peace, Ranger Anderson.

[Buffalobob]

Utah Bob says..........

I hope the weather turns bad and they find the puke's frozen corpse in the spring without anyone else being shot.

News says...............

He apparently died after trudging into chest-deep snow while trying to elude snowshoe-wearing SWAT team members and other police who were on his trail.

Do you charge to place curses and hexes on people? What's the going rate?

[LongWire]

Update

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-...ainier-gunman/
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Suspect in Mt. Rainer shooting found dead in snow

(CBS/AP)
Updated 5:54 p.m. ET

MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. - An armed Iraq War veteran suspected of killing a Mount Rainier National Park ranger managed to evade snowshoe-wearing SWAT teams and dogs on his trail for nearly a day. He couldn't, however, escape chest-deep snow.

A plane searching the remote wilderness for Benjamin Colton Barnes, 24, on Monday discovered his body lying face down on the mountain hours from where authorities could get to him.

Barnes is believed to have fled to the remote park on Sunday to hide after an earlier shooting at a New Year's house party near Seattle that wounded four, two critically. Authorities suspect he shot ranger Margaret Anderson later Sunday.

SWAT teams more used to urban standoffs trekked deep into the backcountry, unfamiliar territory for them.

"We have SWAT team members with snowshoes on the side of a mountain," Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said. "This has never happened before."

Immediately after Sunday's shooting, police cleared out the park of visitors and mounted a manhunt.

Fear that tourists could be caught in the crossfire in a shootout with Barnes, who had survivalist training, prompted officials to hold more than a 100 people at the visitors' center before evacuating them in the middle of the night.

(Credit: AP Photo/Pierce County Sheriff's Department) Barnes (seen at left in an undated photo), who was believed to be carrying a cache of weapons, has had a troubled transition to civilian life, with accusations he suffers post-traumatic stress disorder and is suicidal.
He was involved in a custody dispute in July, during which his toddler daughter's mother sought a temporary restraining order against him, according to court documents.

The woman told authorities he was suicidal and possibly suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after deploying to Iraq in 2007-2008, and had once sent her a text message saying "I want to die."

She alleged that he gets easily irritated, angry and depressed and keeps an arsenal of weapons in his home. She wrote that she feared for the child's safety. Undated photos provided by police showed a shirtless, tattooed Barnes brandishing two large weapons.

In November 2011, a guardian ad litem recommended parenting and communication classes for both parents and recommending Barnes be allowed to continue supervised visits with the child, two days a week.

That visitation schedule was to continue until he completed a domestic violence evaluation and mental health evaluation and complied with all treatment recommendations.

Late Sunday police said Barnes was a suspect in another shooting incident.

On New Year's, there was an argument at a house party in Skyway, south of Seattle, and gunfire erupted, police said. Barnes was connected to the shooting, said Sgt. Cindi West, King County Sheriff's spokeswoman.

Police believe Barnes headed to the remote park wilderness to "hide out" following the Skyway shooting.

"The speculation is that he may have come up here, specifically for that reason, to get away," parks spokesman Kevin Bacher told reporters early Monday. "The speculation is he threw some stuff in the car and headed up here to hide out."

Anderson had set up a roadblock Sunday morning to stop a man who had blown through a checkpoint rangers use to check if vehicles have tire chains for winter conditions. A gunman opened fire on her before she was able to exit her vehicle, authorities say.

Before fleeing, the gunman fired shots at both Anderson and the ranger that trailed him, but only Anderson was hit.

Anderson would have been armed, as she was one of the rangers tasked with law enforcement, parks spokesman Kevin Bacher said. Troyer said she was shot before she had even got out of the vehicle.

The shooting occurred on an unseasonably sunny and mild day. The park, which offers miles of wooded trails and spectacular vistas from which to see 14,410-foot Mount Rainier, draws between 1.5 million and 2 million visitors each year. The park remained closed to visitors Monday.

Park superintendent Randy King said Anderson, a 34-year-old mother of two young girls who was married to another Rainier ranger, had served as a park ranger for about four years.

King said Anderson's husband also was working as a ranger elsewhere in the park at the time of the shooting.

"It's just a huge tragedy — for the family, the park and the park service," he said.

Adam Norton, a neighbor of Anderson's in the small town of Eatonville, Wash., said the ranger's family moved in about a year ago. He said they were not around much, but when they were Norton would see Anderson outside with her girls.

"They just seemed like the perfect family," he said.

The town of about 3,000 residents, which is a logging community overlooking Mount Rainier, is very close knit, he said.

"It's really sad right now," Norton said. "We take care of each other."

The shooting renewed debate about a federal law that made it legal for people to take loaded weapons into national parks. The 2010 law made possession of firearms subject to state gun laws.

Bill Wade, the outgoing chair of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, said Congress should be regretting its decision.

"The many congressmen and senators that voted for the legislation that allowed loaded weapons to be brought into the parks ought to be feeling pretty bad right now," said Wade.

Wade called Sunday's fatal shooting a tragedy that could have been prevented. He hopes Congress will reconsider the law that took effect in early 2010, but doubts that will happen in today's political climate.

Calls and emails to the National Rifle Association requesting comment were not immediately returned on Monday.

The NRA said media fears of gun violence in parks were unlikely to be realized, the NRA wrote in a statement about the law after it went into effect. "The new law affects firearms possession, not use," it said.

The group pushed for the law saying people have a right to defend themselves against park animals and other people.

Bacher, the parks spokesman, said surviving overnight in the open on Rainier is difficult, but not impossible for a person with gear and skills. He added that authorities wouldn't shed tears if Colton didn't survive.

"I don't think any of us would be sorry if he was not in a condition to fire on our searchers this morning," Bacher said.
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I can't speak for that POS, but I'm thinking that being allowed to bring guns into the park probably wasn't high on his reasons for going there.

[DevilSide]

Must be those weather control devices I'd like one of my own

But seriously, I'm glad justice has been served.

[Pete]

"................with Barnes, who had survivalist training,................................"

Must have been a No Go during the Cold Weather portion of the training - cause he sure failed the FTX.

I think he went too easy. I would have liked to see him get frost bite on the fingers and toes then let the medics chop them off - then have him stand trial with stubs.

[Peregrino]

I'm glad Barnes is answering to a higher authority for his crimes. I'm thoroughly pissed that a good and necessary law allowing law abiding citizens to carry firearms in the parks is being linked to this sensless tragedy. Mr Wade is pursuing/reviving a personal agenda that was soundly and correctly defeated.

[plato]

Originally Posted by LongWire

Update

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-...ainier-gunman/
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"The many congressmen and senators that voted for the legislation that allowed loaded weapons to be brought into the parks ought to be feeling pretty bad right now," said Wade.

Wade called Sunday's fatal shooting a tragedy that could have been prevented. He hopes Congress will reconsider the law that took effect in early 2010, but doubts that will happen in today's political climate.

I can't speak for that POS, but I'm thinking that being allowed to bring guns into the park probably wasn't high on his reasons for going there.

The idiots who think that a criminal who is willing to risk a life sentence would be deterred by life plus a $100 fine for carrying illegally, are nearly as scary as the criminals themselves.

[cetheridge]

(from a retired Park Ranger).....

"Rest In Peace, Ranger Anderson. May God comfort your husband and family."

Justice has been served on the maggot.

[Weazle23]

This story has hit the area pretty hard.

She left behind a husband and 2 kids. RIP Park Ranger.

I'm just glad the wilderness area that she watched over was able to put him down before he could hurt anyone else.