Teenage girl killed in Columbia Valley; man believed to be shooter is dead
January 7, 2010 by The Foothills Gazette
Filed under January 4 - January 14, News
COLUMBIA VALLEY — Updated at 9:06 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 7
A teenage girl was shot and killed in the Columbia Valley area early this morning. Her mother is injured and currently at St. Joseph Hospital. A man, believed to be the shooter, is dead.
According to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, a call came in around 3 a.m. from the 600 block of Sprague Valley Drive in Peaceful Valley. The mother had run to a neighbor’s home for help. The incident is believed to be a murder – suicide.
Authorities have not publicly identified the victims or the shooter. The Foothills Gazette has learned the shooter was Sean Wilson. The mother, Rebecca Boonstra, remains in the hospital. Her 14-year-old daughter was pronounced dead early this morning.
Boonstra, the coordinator of the Mt. Baker Chamber of Commerce’s visitors center in Maple Falls, has ties within the community and has worked with several groups.
Wilson, a member of the Whatcom County Planning Commission, was also a Columbia Valley representative on the Foothills Subarea Committee.
Authorities have been to the home before on a domestic violence call.
Officials have called a press conference for 10:30 a.m. today at the Whatcom County courthouse. Additional information will be posted as details are confirmed.
