Updates on May 17 Chelan Shooting; Victim in Stable Condition
The Chelan County Sheriff's Office has crucial updates regarding a shooting that took place on May 17.
The following information was gleaned from a press release issued by the Sheriff's Office on Thursday afternoon.
Luis Rojas-Resendiz, 49, is believed to have been the aggressor in a bullet-ridden confrontation with Filiberto Valasco-Lopez, 40. This occurred near Stayman Flats Rd. and Summer Camp Rd. in Chelan.
Valasco-Lopez and a female companion were en route to work when Rojas-Resendiz confronted them near an intersection. Before long Rojas-Resendiz opened gunfire. Although gravely wounded, Valasco-Lopez managed to hang on.
He and his passenger fled northbound, only to be confronted once more by Rojas-Resendiz. Upon exiting his vehicle near a milepost on Stayman Flats Rd., Valasco-Lopez was again shot by Rojas-Resendiz.
Shortly thereafter Rojas-Resendiz took drastic action. According to the Sheriff's Office, Rojas-Resendiz died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Valasco-Lopez is reportedly in stable condition. The 40-year-old benefited from "lifesaving trauma aid" at the scene of the shooting; this included "four chest seals." (Chest seals are adhesives used for bleeding control. They are applied in cases of severe injury to the chest wall.)
His prospects for survival were initially an open question. Valasco-Lopez was first transported via ambulance to Central Washington Hospital. Later he was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where his condition was critical for a time.
The woman riding with Valasco-Lopez was not injured.
Prior to this afternoon, little was known about the shooting or its outcome. In a laconic press release on May 17, the Sheriff's Office, faced with an ongoing investigation, could volunteer little information beyond the date, time and location of the shooting.