By Diana Hefley, Herald Writer
EVERETT — A Granite Falls man is now charged with attempted murder for a rolling shootout with police last month that left officers diving for cover.
New court documents describe the harrowing encounter Oct. 15 between Hans Hansen and Marysville police who tried to end gunfire in an incident that spanned three cities.
Hansen allegedly shot up a building and police cars in Granite Falls and Lake Stevens. Marysville police took the brunt of the gunfire when they tried to apprehend him.
One police sergeant was struck in the leg during the melee. Another officer was forced to take cover behind a parked tow truck after “a torrent of bullets” ripped through his patrol car. A third officer reported feeling rounds hit near her feet and legs as she ran for protection.
Hansen eventually surrendered after he was shot in the head. The bullet did not pierce his skull, and he wasn’t seriously injured.
Hansen, 43, reportedly told detectives he “just went on a joyride with an AK-47,” court papers say. He explained that his plan was to anger as many people as he could until someone shot him. He said he was facing financial and health problems.
Hansen denied shooting at police. He said he was aiming at patrol cars.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Ed Stemler on Nov. 5 charged Hansen with two counts of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of drive-by shooting.
Hansen on Nov. 6 pleaded innocent to the charges. He was being held without bail in the Snohomish County Jail. His wife, sisters and father were in the courtroom and waved at Hansen as he was led away.
Hansen has lived in Snohomish County all his life, attending Marysville-Pilchuck High School, his attorney Jon Scott said after the hearing.
The Granite Falls father doesn’t have any criminal history and his actions were out of character for him, Scott said.
“He was a desperate, depressed, suicidal guy,” Scott said. “His intent, as he expressed it, was to have (police) kill him. He was not targeting police officers.”
The events began to unfold in Granite Falls around 9:30 p.m. when dispatchers received word that someone had shot up a police car outside the station. Rounds also hit the building. As police began to investigate, dispatchers began receiving calls about gunfire at the Lake Stevens Police Department. Patrol cars and other vehicles parked outside were hit. The building took several hits, too.
Marysville police anticipated that their station would be next. Officers began searching the east side of town for the suspect’s truck. An officer saw Hansen’s vehicle in the 7000 block of 64th Street. The officer pulled behind the truck. A second officer also began following. Hansen allegedly stopped and got out of his truck armed with a rifle. The closest officer heard gunfire and began backing up. Bullets struck his car and shattered the windshield. As the officer slid out of the car, bullets struck the driver’s side window and broke out the side spotlight.
As he tried to take cover the officer saw sparks at his feet from rounds striking the ground. The second officer also ran for cover. She said she felt bullets flying all around her legs and feet, Stemler wrote.
Hansen got back into his pickup and drove on. That’s when Marysville police Sgt. Jim Maples encountered him. The sergeant “realized he was in a bad situation. He believed the defendant had killed (two officers) and was now driving at him,” Stemler wrote.
Maples grabbed his rifle as Hansen drove at him. He positioned himself behind his car. “He felt bullets striking all around him coming through his patrol car,” Stemler wrote.
He fired at Hansen, who didn’t stop. As the truck got closer, Maples repositioned himself behind some parked cars. He felt severe pain in his lower leg and dropped to the ground. As Maples was on the ground he felt a bullet whiz past his wrist, burning the skin, court papers say. He was hit again in the leg. Hansen drove past Maples. Officers arrived to help the sergeant, placing a tourniquet on his leg. Maples was rushed to a hospital.
Hansen reportedly drove on, firing at more patrol cars. An officer positioned himself where he could fire his rifle at the pickup without rounds hitting nearby houses. As the pickup approached, the officer shot at the truck. He heard return gunfire and dove for cover. As he rolled onto his back he saw the pickup drive up onto the sidewalk. Hansen tossed a rifle out, opened the door and fell to the ground. Police arrested him and called for aid.
“The defendant made a comment to the effect of let him die,” Stemler wrote.
Hansen told detectives at the hospital that he had loaded up two AK-47 rifles, an AR-15, a shotgun, a .40-caliber handgun and several other firearms. He first shot up a building belonging to a man whom he blamed for his business getting evicted, Stemler wrote. He said he fired 25 rounds into the building. Hansen said he was using steel-tipped rounds that would go through bullet-proof vests and cars.
Hansen said he targeted police because they eventually would be the ones to evict him from his home. His intention wasn’t to go to jail, Hansen said.
“I’ll cause more (expletive) problems there than what I caused tonight,” he said.
