Vancouver police arrest teen in connection with seven drive-by shootings

Vancouver police arrested a 17-year-old boy Monday in connection with four drive-by shootings in Vancouver, one in Clark County and two in Portland. Authorities did not release the boy’s identity.

While investigating, police recovered a firearm from an associate of the suspect. Testing of the gun connected it to several shootings, according to a news release from the Vancouver Police Department.

A white van was seen leaving the scene of an April 4 shooting in the 1900 block of East 30th Street in Vancouver’s Rose Village neighborhood, the news release states.

On Monday, officers served a search warrant on the suspect’s house in the 1900 block of West 31st Street in Vancouver’s Fruit Valley neighborhood and the white van that was parked outside. Detectives seized a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle that matched shootings in Clark County and Portland, 9 mm casings that matched several Vancouver shootings and stolen items from a car prowl, according to police.

Police located the suspect at a second residence in the 9800 block of Northeast Tanglewood Drive in Vancouver’s Marrion neighborhood. He and another boy, who is a person of interest in several shooting investigations, were detained without incident, the news release states.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office Tactical Detective Unit, Vancouver Neighborhood Response Team and SWAT assisted with the arrest.

The 17-year-old boy was booked into the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center on suspicion of drive-by shooting and unlawful possession of a firearm.

The investigation is ongoing. Police said additional charges are pending, based on other shooting investigations and evidence linking the recovered weapons.