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Police arrested a man Sunday who shot at a teen fleeing this Battle Ground-area home.

(Courtesy Clark County Sheriff's Office.)

Clark County Sheriff's Deputies said they arrested a man who reported firing a shotgun in his Battle Ground-area home early Sunday to scare away an intruder, only to discover the fleeing teen was one of several that his 15-year-old granddaughter had invited into the home.

Sheriff's deputies responded at 1 a.m. to reports of shots fired at a home on the 17000 block of Northeast 280th Street. Bill Bicknell told police he heard noises in his home and fired off a shotgun to scare away a teen whom he discovered exiting an upper story window, deputies said. The authorities said they determined Bicknell's granddaughter, who lives in the home, had invited over several teens, all of whom fled when they heard Bicknell approaching.

Police found shotgun pellets above the window and were able to account for all the teens except one. They conducted an unsuccessful search for the missing teen with a K-9 unit and thermal night vision. Major Crime team detectives were called in, and several hours later, the teen was located, uninjured, away from the scene.

Bicknell was arrested, taken to Clark County jail and booked on a charge of first-degree assault.

-- Ted Sickinger