Just after 10:00 PM Monday evening December 18th, 2023 Hoquiam Police officers along with Hoquiam Fire Department were dispatched to a report of a juvenile male that had been shot in the face in the 2500 block of Cherry St. The victim was airlifted from community Hospital for higher medical care.

The Hoquiam Police Department says that they are still searching for the suspect but say that this was an isolated incident and not a shooter at large.

Grays Harbor County Sheriffs department was asked to respond with their on duty K9 Unit. The suspect was described as a Hispanic male 5 ft 4, long hair wearing a red t-shirt, red hat and white shoes according to radio traffic.

No information on the age of the juvenile, nor the suspect, was given.

During the k9 track officers did locate clothing from the suspect, a black jacket and the red hat dropped in the area of the 2700 block of Queets.

According to a social media post, a person in the home where this occurred said that it was an accident involving the firearm.

Hoquiam Police Chief Joe Strong made a social media statement saying Shortly after 10:00 PM Monday night, police and medics were dispatched to the scene regarding a subject who had been shot. Upon their arrival, they located a juvenile male who had an apparent gunshot wound. The juvenile was stabilized by aid personnel and transported to Harbor Regional Health for treatment.

Officers and Detectives are searching for a person of interest in the case who fled the scene prior to police arrival. Preliminarily, this appears to be a targeted incident and there is nothing to indicate there is a threat to the public.

Anyone who has information about this incident or video footage of the area between 10:00 - 10:15 PM is asked to call the non-emergency dispatch number (360) 533-8765.