“Navy officer shot, killed”

A junior officer stationed at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station was fatally shot in the head early Friday morning while driving on Highway 20 in Skagit County.

“A junior officer stationed at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station was fatally shot in the head early Friday morning while driving on Highway 20 in Skagit County.Investigators have few leads in the man’s homicide and no clue to what the motive of the shooting could be beyond the possibility of road rage, according to Skagit County Undersheriff Dave Stafford.But the Sheriff’s Office is asking for information on “two vehicles of interest,” he said.Shortly after midnight, Stafford said the State Patrol received a report of a car accident on Highway 20, just east of the Swinomish Slough bridge and Swinomish Casino.The trooper found the mid-size station wagon in a field on the south side of the highway and immediately called the Sheriff’s Office after discovering that the driver had been shot and killed.The Skagit County Sheriff’s Office would not release the victim’s name Friday, Stafford said, because of difficulties contacting the man’s next of kin. He is described as an Island County man in his mid-20s. Navy officials, however, identified the victim as a lieutenant junior grade attached to the base’s Fleet Aviation Specialized Operational Training Group, or FASO. Stafford said it appears that someone in another vehicle fired the fatal shot. After the driver was shot, investigators believe that his westbound car crossed the median and two eastbound lanes, then came to rest at the edge of a field. The victim is believed to have been the sole occupant of the car.Investigators are looking for a couple of vehicles that were seen in the area near the time of the shooting. One is described as an older Trans Am-type car that was possibly dark in color. The other is a dark-colored, 1970s Ford pickup with a roll bar that has lights attached.Stafford said one of the two cars was “smoking heavily” but the witness wasn’t sure which one. Anyone with any information can contact the Sheriff’s Office at (360) 336-9450.”