Ranger killed in Mount Rainier Nat'l Park shooting

A Mount Rainier National Park ranger was fatally shot Sunday following a routine traffic stop, and authorities closed the 368-square-mile park in Washington state as they searched for the armed gunman, a park spokeswoman said. The ranger was identified as 34-year-old Margaret Anderson. She had set up a vehicle as a roadblock on a park road just before the shooting, which happened at about 11 a.m. near the Longmire Ranger Station in the southwestern part of the park, Lee Taylor said. Ed Troyer, a Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman, said his department received a report around 11:30 a.m. of shots fired in the park and a ranger in need of help. When authorities arrived, Troyer said, they also encountered gunfire, but no one else was hit. Authorities removed Anderson from the park and found that she was dead, Troyer said. Authorities believe the gunman is still in the woods with an assault rifle. They are asking people to stay away from the park, and for those already inside the park to leave. Authorities were stopping and questioning people as they departed...more