Teen accused of attempted murder appears in court

A 17-year-old Vancouver boy who allegedly tried to shoot a woman multiple times, but was unsuccessful because the firearm malfunctioned, appeared Monday in Clark County Superior Court.

Armando Arciga-Gomez appeared on suspicion of attempted second-degree murder and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with the March 12 incident. He was automatically remanded to Superior Court based on his age and the nature of the allegation.

Arciga-Gomez pointed a handgun at an 18-year-old woman and pulled the trigger multiple times, witnesses said, while at Marine Park, 4501 S.E. Columbia Way, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The woman had been at the park, she said, to fight a 19-year-old woman. During the fight, she saw Arciga-Gomez from a crowd of onlookers point a silver and black handgun at her head and torso from about 10 feet away, she said. She said she followed him to his car and began punching him. He then pointed the gun at her at point-blank range, the affidavit said.

A bystander pulled the woman off of Arciga-Gomez, and he left. Several witnesses told police they saw Arciga-Gomez point the gun at the woman and pull the trigger about 20 times. It didn’t fire, however, because of a malfunction, court records said.

In an interview with police, Arciga-Gomez said he pulled the trigger about 40 times to try to shoot the woman. He said he later fixed the malfunction and fired a live round out of the car window after he drove away, according to court documents.

Judge Daniel Stahnke set Arciga-Gomez’s bail at $200,000. He will be arraigned April 15.