UPDATE: January 16, 2026 2:58 p.m.
The Grant County Sheriff’s Office Crime Reduction Team arrested the 39-year-old Ephrata man accused of shooting someone on Thursday morning who had been living on his property.
The sheriff’s office announced the arrest on Friday morning and said they arrested him “overnight.” He was arrested during a traffic stop near Quincy.
The sheriff’s office said it worked alongside the Quincey Police Department to track the suspect down.
The suspect was charged with first-degree assault and was sent to the Grant County Jail.
UPDATE: January 15, 2026 10:56 a.m.
A 39-year-old man shot a person living on his property before barricading himself from the police. The Grant County Sheriff’s Office provided updates throughout the standoff, but the suspect ultimately was not found.
The sheriff’s office said they responded around 1 a.m. in rural Ephrata after a call reported a man had been shot.
Further investigation revealed that the victim, also a 39-year-old man, was shot by the property owner while unlocking the gate to enter the property. The suspect “came out of the house, walked to the victim, and shot the victim once at close range with a handgun,” the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies and officers from Ephrata and Moses Lake surrounded the home, believing the suspect to be inside.
However, the Moses Lake Regional Tactical Response Team entered the house and searched it, along with the entire several acre-property, and did not find the suspect, the sheriff’s office said.
Grant County detectives are continuing the investigation.
The sheriff’s office asked anyone with information to call 509-762-1160 regarding case number 26GS00501.
UPDATE: January 15, 2026 8:19 a.m.
The Grant County Sheriff’s Office said the public can resume normal activities, but it was not able to arrest the shooting suspect.
“The house, dwellings, and vehicles on the property have all been checked, and the suspect was not found,” the sheriff’s office wrote at 7:15 a.m.
The sheriff’s office said detectives were investigating the shooting.
GRANT COUNTY, Wash. – A shooting suspect in rural Ephrata barricaded himself inside a house Thursday morning. Grant County law enforcement are trying to get him to come outside.
At 2:44 a.m. on Thursday, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office posted that a shooting suspect barricaded himself inside a house at Drumheller Road and Road A.5. and that police had the house surrounded.
The victim was moved to the hospital, the sheriff’s office said. Their condition is unknown and no details were provided about the alleged shooting.
At 4 a.m., the sheriff’s office said negotiators were trying to convince the suspect to come outside. It added that the Moses Lake Police Department was also at the scene.
At 6:15 a.m., the office said “Police continue to work toward a safe resolution. No other new information.”
This is a developing story and updates will be added when they become available.
Article originally posted January 15, 2026 6:58 a.m.
