Man Arrested After Allegedly Firing Rifle At Four People On Rufus Woods Lake

A Grant County man is facing five felony assault charges after police say he willfully discharged a firearm in the direction of several people who were boating in Douglas County on Sunday.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office says deputies responded to reports of a weapons violation in the 1000 block of Strahl Canyon Road at around 8:15 p.m., and arrived at the scene to learn that a man had allegedly fired shots from the shoreline of Rufus Woods Lake at four people who were fishing from a boat.

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Deputies made contact with the four victims - all of whom were unhurt, along with the man who allegedly fired at them, and reportedly discovered that the suspect had shot a rifle in the direction of the boat after a neighbor told him they had also discharged a gun while on the lake.

Investigators say the victims told deputies they were armed with a gun for protection from predators, and the weapon had accidentally discharged after being bumped while on the boat. After which, the victims told deputies they fired the gun in a safe location to test its accuracy, and were then fired upon by the suspect a short time later.

After establishing probable cause that a crime had been committed, deputies arrested the suspect - 41-year-old Shawn W. Robison of Grand Coulee on five counts of first-degree assault.

Robison reportedly admitted to police that he fired the weapon at the boat in an attempt to frighten its occupants away from the area.