Two Shot Dead Near Goldendale — Man Charged With Murder

GOLDENDALE, Wash. (AP) — Murder charges have been filed against a 51-year-old man accused of fatally shooting two 18-year-olds who were living on his property outside Goldendale in south-central Washington.

The deaths were the first homicides in Klickitat County since 2013.

Klickitat County sheriff's Sgt. Erik Anderson says April Reed and her boyfriend Justin Plunkett were repeatedly shot Thursday about 8 miles northwest of Goldendale. Hawkins was Reed's great-uncle. The couple had recently moved from Oregon and was living in a tent on the property.

Authorities say Hawkins also engaged in a gun battle with his sister, firing into her trailer as she fired back blindly. Neither was hit. Two motorhomes and a shed also burned.

Hawkins eventually surrendered to the first responding deputy.

Hawkins was placed into a patrol car while the deputy went to investigate, and at some point, he stopped breathing. He was taken to a Portland, Oregon, hospital where he remains conscious.