Two men shoot at each other Wednesday in Bellingham. Then Batman flees the scene
Two men exchanged gunfire Wednesday afternoon at an apartment complex in Bellingham but neither was hit, police say, then one changed into a Batman costume and fled the scene.
And it wasn’t even Halloween.
Thomas E. Paine was arrested for second- and fourth-degree assault for allegedly punching another man in the face, then firing a gun at him. The incident happened around 3:30 p.m. Nov. 1 in the 2700 block of Maplewood Avenue.
Paine and the other man were in Paine’s apartment having a drink. The victim told police that Paine, unprovoked, jumped up and started punching him in the face, giving him a bloody nose, according to Lt. Claudia Murphy with the Bellingham Police Department.
The victim then went to his apartment to change out of his bloody shirt, when there was a knock at the door. The victim found Paine at the bottom of the stairs aiming a handgun at him.
Paine took a shot, which missed, and then the victim grabbed his own gun and took a shot back at Paine, also missing, police said.
When the second man shot back, Paine went back to his apartment, changed into a Batman costume, and fled the scene. He was walking in his costume when he saw police officers and flagged them down,
Paine was cut due to an unrelated indent, Murphy said, and was taken to the hospital for treatment.
The other man was not identified or charged.
This story was originally published November 2, 2023 at 8:28 AM.
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