Bellingham man suspected of shooting, killing his mother following argument Thursday
A Bellingham man is suspected of murdering his mother following an argument between the two early Thursday in the Birchwood neighborhood apartment they shared. The man said he then left the apartment to kill himself, when he was involved in a crash at the intersection of West Bakerview Road and West Maplewood Avenue.
The Bellingham Police Department booked Erich M. Abrams, 35, into Whatcom County Jail Thursday, Nov. 18, on suspicion of first-degree murder and DUI.
Officers were called at 1:42 a.m. Thursday to the intersection of Bakerview and Maplewood avenues for the report of a single-car crash involving a red Subaru Outback, according to Whatcom County Superior Court documents.
SiriusXM advised police that they had a report of the crash of a car owned by Abrams, documents state, and the operators told the What-comm dispatcher that they could hear somebody moving around in the cabin of the car. The SiriusXM operator also reported that Abrams said he was going to kill himself for what he did or that he wanted police to kill him.
What-comm dispatchers also told police as they were en route that witnesses saw Abrams in the car banging his head on the inside and and asking for police, according to documents.
When they arrived, police made contact with Abrams using a public address system and got him to exit the Subaru with his hands up, documents state, and he was placed under arrest.
Abrams told police that he had just shot his mom at their home, according to documents, and he said that he was highly intoxicated after drinking four to five shots of liquor and a can of Steel Reserve beer. Officers also reportedly saw several prescription pill bottles inside the car along with loaded 9mm ammunition magazines.
Abrams told officers his gun, a 9mm Springfield Hellcat, was in the car and that he had intended to shoot himself and officers with it, documents state.
Police and firefighters responded to Abrams’ apartment in the 2600 block of West Maplewood Avenue and found Abrams’ mother with gunshot wounds to her face, chest and legs, according to documents. His mother was pronounced dead at the scene.
After obtaining a search warrant, police found guns in the apartment, according to documents.
Abrams was questioned, documents state, and he told police:
▪ He and his mother had gotten into an argument in the hallway or living room of the apartment.
▪ He became so upset he went into his bedroom, opened a safe where he kept his gun and loaded it.
▪ He then walked to his mother’s bedroom, where she was laying down, and shot her in the face — twice he remembered.
▪ He then grabbed his car keys and drove away from the apartment and said he planned to kill himself.
▪ While driving away and due to his level of intoxication, he failed to negotiate a turn from West Maplewood Avenue onto West Bakerview Avenue and crashed into a pole on the northwest corner of the intersection.
The mother’s name was not included in the court documents.
This story was originally published November 18, 2021 at 7:32 AM.
