Probation officer gives office BJ to boot-camp teen
Isaac Zamora Identified as Shooter in Washington Spree
Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 1:50 am
The Associated Press has identified the suspect in a Washington State shooting spree as Isaac Zamora, age 28.
The spree left six dead and two wounded. A deputy from the Skagit County Sheriff's Dept. was among the dead. A Washington State trooper was injured during the police chase that ultimately led to Zamora's arrest.
A spokesperson for the Washington State Patrol said that Zamora had "a mental illness." The AP also indicated that Zamora was in Skagit County detention as recently as early August.
Dennise Zamora, a healthcare worker, told the AP she was Zamora's mother. In an interview she described her son's severe mental illness and said that she was "devastated for the families" of the victims. Dennise Zamora also said that she wished that either she or her son had been killed rather than the 6 who died.
In another interview with a Seattle-area TV station, Zamora's mother said, "This is the truth: I love him, but I would of rather it would have been him than any of them. Its’ not his fault that he is mentally ill."
Isaac Zamora's mother has apparently tried to help her son in the past, but she has been limited by the fact that her son is no longer a minor. Zamora has been in and out of jail for theft and drug-related offenses and may have even been homeless for a time.
Isaac Zamora was on a special list of Skagit County offenders who were watched due to issues such as mental illness.
Zamora did have a MySpace page, but he hadn't logged in since December of 2007 and there really wasn't anything there, save a birthday comment from a friend, left in August, 2007.
Perhaps because the victims of this spree were scattered over several crime scenes, making the investigation much more complex than usual, none of their names have been released.
Zamora is in the Skagit County jail. [Seattle Times and the Bellingham Herald.]
Tags: 6 killed, Dennise Zamora, I-5 shooting spree, Isaac Zamora, Silver Creek Drive, Skagit County WA
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