Royal stunned by Friday's shooting

ROYAL CITY — Employees of Callahan Manufacturing and residents of this community were stunned Friday morning by a shooting at Callahan’s that left one man dead, one seriously wounded and another in jail.

“We feel terrible for our people,” Nancy Callahan said Friday. “They’re like one big family.”

The 8 a.m. incident at Callahan’s Manufacturing left employees in a tattered emotional state. They were all questioned by police as part of the investigation.

According to Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones, Royal City Police Chief Darin Smith was the first law enforcement to arrive on the scene. His entire force was there in minutes.

The Callahan’s have 200 employees throughout their enterprises. The 13 at the manufacturing plant were close to the shooting.

“They’re struggling with it,” Dean Callahan said. “They’re all shook up. They all had to go to city hall.”

After that, those employees went to the office, picked up their paychecks and headed for home. It was fortunate, Dean said, that they would have the weekend to recover and regroup for a return to work Monday.

According to Jones, the man who died was Joel Rodriguez, 49, of Quincy He was pronounced dead at the scene. His family was notified Saturday. His body was in the care of the Grant County Coroner’s Office pending an autopsy.

Sustaining multiple gunshot wounds was Augustín Verduzco, 55, of Soap Lake. He was airlifted to an unidentified hospital. At latest report, he remained in critical condition.

Taken into custody was Eduardo Ibarra-Valencia, 30, of Royal City. He was booked into Grant County Jail on suspicion of first degree murder and attempted first degree murder.

After assessing the situation and some witness information, Smith went over to Ibarra-Valencia’s home and made the arrest without incident.

Ibarra-Valencia and his family reside in a trailer house directly below the Callahans on the same hill. Dean was stunned and puzzled by what happened.

“He was a nice fellow, he had a really nice wife and kids,” he said.

Dean said he never suspected a problem between the three men involved. He said they worked “together all the time” for more than five years. He added that Ibarra-Valencia was quiet and mild-mannered.

Royal schools were on lockdown during the incident, but the lockdown was lifted quickly.

According to Jones, preliminary information suggests the shooting resulted from a confrontation between employees. No other specific motive information is available.

Now the families must deal with the aftermath. Dean said Joel Rodriguez’a family will have the money to cover his funeral. He checked with the Department of Labor & Industries and was told Rodriguez was covered by life insurance.

Jones said: “This is a tragedy, and I hope the community will join us in sharing our sincerest condolences and support to the families of Mr. Rodriguez and Mr. Sanchez.”