Shooting at Shangri-La RV park on June 6

DAYTON—A shooting incident on June 6 at the Shangri-La River Ranch RV Park, west of Dayton, left one man critically injured, and another has been arrested. According to the police report, Justin G. Karl, 40, was working on his motorcycle in the early hours of Sunday morning. His wife, Stephanie A. Karl, 48, could hear him working when she heard a loud noise. She went outside to find Justin yelling that he had just been shot. A Columbia County Sheriff’s deputy responded to the incident at approximately 1:30 a.m. On arrival, the deputy provided basic aid to the victim, who was having difficulty breathing. The deputy observed multiple bullet wounds on the victim’s chest and abdomen. Karl was life-flighted to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, where he would receive emergency surgery. On Sunday, he was listed in critical condition, and there has been no update on the victim’s condition.

According to the incident report, another resident at the park, Willard Norton, said he heard a large animal attacking something in the bushes next to his trailer and went to the park owner’s son, Joshua B. Wilson. Norton said that he and Wilson drove down a side road and observed ‘yellow eyes’ in the trees. Wilson then exited the pickup with a shotgun. He shot once into bushes between the road and the park. Norton claimed he yelled at Wilson that it was unsafe to fire the gun so close to the trailers.

After a search of the area, deputies were unable to locate Wilson at the scene. He was later found at a friend’s trailer at the park approximately ten hours after the incident at 11:30 a.m., Sunday morning. Initially, Wilson claimed Norton borrowed the shotgun and was responsible for the shooting. He later admitted to firing the gun after learning that Norton, Justin Karl, and Stephanie Karl identified him as the shooter. He walked the arresting officers down the path he took after the incident and showed them where the gun was hidden. In his statement, Wilson admitted he left the scene with the gun, telling Norton that he was planning to call for help, but admitted to never making the call.

Columbia County Prosecuting Attorney Dale Slack confirmed on Wednesday that Wilson would be charged on one count of Assault in the Third Degree (Class C felony) with a firearm enhancement (9A.36.031(f), criminal negligence), and Drive-By Shooting (Class B felony). The firearm enhancement adds a mandatory 18 months to Wilson’s sentence. As of June 9, Wilson was being held on a $300,000 cash or surety bond.