Bellingham man suspected of shooting and killing another in homeless encampment
A Bellingham man is suspected of shooting a 27-year-old man in the chest with a .22 caliber rifle and killing him in a homeless encampment behind Walmart Friday afternoon.
The Bellingham Police Department booked Travis William Hamilton, 38, into Whatcom County Jail Friday, Sept. 3., on outstanding warrants for burglary and criminal trespassing, jail records show.
On Tuesday, Sept. 7, police established probable cause for second-degree murder, Lt. Claudia Murphy told the Bellingham Herald in an email late Wednesday. Jail records show he is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.
Police were sent at approximately 2:22 p.m. Friday to the 4200 block of Meridian Street for the report of a person with a gunshot wound to the chest located in a tent at one of the encampments behind Walmart, Murphy reported.
Officers and members of the Bellingham Fire Department entered the woods behind Walmart and found the victim, according to Murphy, adding that the victim was examined by EMS personnel and determined to be dead.
Detectives arrived on scene to begin interviewing people in the area that had shown up after hearing the gunshot.
One witness reported hearing the gunshot, going to Hamilton’s camp to see what happened and seeing Hamilton standing 10 to 12 feet outside the opening of the tent where the victim was found, Murphy reported. The witness also reported seeing a rifle laying against a post beside Hamilton, according to Murphy, and the victim was seen on the ground near there, crawling toward the tent.
The witness reported seeing nobody else coming or going from the area where Hamilton’s tent was located.
Hamilton also was interviewed by police, Murphy reported, and he said he was asleep when he was awakened by the sound of the gunshot. Hamilton reported seeing the victim on the ground and then crawling to the tent and claimed he did not know who had shot the victim, according to Murphy.
Whatcom County Medical Examiner Dr. Gary Goldfogel performed an autopsy on the victim and determined his death to be a homicide by gunshot wound, Murphy reported. He also retrieved a bullet from inside the victim’s body.
Police applied for and were granted a search warrant to Hamilton’s tent and recovered a .22 caliber rifle containing the same ammunition that was found inside the victim’s body during the autopsy, according to Murphy. The rifle reportedly was found in a bicycle trailer, which was a different location from where the witness reported seeing it.
Charges are expected to be filed against Hamilton on Thursday, the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office told The Herald.
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 10:48 AM.
