Gunman outside high school football game identified
Motive for shooting rampage in which nobody else was hit is still uncertain
SEATTLE — The heavily armed man who opened fire near a youth football game before being killed in a shootout with police has been identified, but police say they still don't know what prompted the rampage.
The King County Medical Examiner identified the man as Ronald W. Ficker, 51. Ficker died at the scene of multiple gunshot wounds inflicted by law enforcement officers who swarmed the area between Issaquah High School and Clark Elementary School.
No other persons were wounded in Saturday's bizarre incident, in which witnesses said Ficker brandished two rifles after abandoning his car in the middle of Front Street.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene, with the sound of gunfire causing people to run for safety. The shooting brought a halt to a football game going on at the high school stadium, forcing students and parents to seek shelter. Several people described hearing or feeling bullets fly past them.
Officers later surrounded Ficker on a service road where they shot and killed him.
County tax records show that Ficker owned a home on 230th Avenue Southeast in unincorporated King County that he bought in March 1989.
The Seattle Times reported that Ficker was divorced.
The officers involved remain on paid administrative leave as the King County Sheriff's Office investigates.
This article contains reporting from NBC state KING 5 of Seattle and msnbc.com staff.
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