Visit www.lewiscountywatch.com for news on courts and emergency services in Lewis County and surrounding areas.
A man shot his brother before turning a gun on himself Sunday night hours after their sister was rescued after falling down a well in Winlock, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Sunday’s incidents began at 4:14 p.m. in the 600 block of Tennessee Road when law enforcement and aid crews responded to a report of a 63-year-old woman falling into an approximately 50-foot well.
“She had been going out to drop chlorine into the well when the floorboards gave (way) and she fell through,” said Chief Deputy Dusty Breen.
As aid crews and law enforcement worked to rescue the woman, her two brothers, ages 56, of Winlock, and 59, of Malone, began having a verbal dispute.
The 59-year-old brother was asked to leave due to “disruptive” behavior, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Crews pulled the woman in the well to safety and transferred her to a hospital for medical treatment.
At 6:30 p.m., the 59-year-old brother reportedly returned to the Winlock property.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, witnesses reported he shot his younger brother multiple times, then himself. Both died as a result of their injuries, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The incident is still under investigation. The Lewis County Coroner’s Office has not yet released the names of the men killed. Autopsies are scheduled for later this week.
Anyone with information on the incident are being encouraged to call the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office at 360-748-9286, or Lewis County Communications at 360-740-1105.
