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James Hoffman, 38, of Battle Ground and his employee, Billy Beadle, 34, of Camas, both face charges of reckless endangerment, aim/discharge of a firearm, false reporting and obstruction. The Michal Thompson / File photo

(Michal Thompson)

The owner of a Washington state tattoo parlor asked his employee to shoot him, Camas police said Friday.

Why?

Because James Hoffman, one of the owners of Momentum Tattoo Parlor in Camas, wanted to be initiated into an Internet-based club where members are required to be shot, police said.

Hoffman, 38, of Battle Ground and his employee, Billy Beadle, 34, of Camas, both face charges of reckless endangerment, aim/discharge of a firearm, false reporting and obstruction after the Beadle fired three rounds in the business, police said.

One bullet grazed Hoffman's hip but didn't break the skin, police said.

Hoffman reported Wednesday that a "short, dark-skinned male" came into the shop and fired three rounds, police said. All available police units and detectives responded to the scene, canvassed the neighborhood and requested local businesses to release surveillance footage. The Clark County Sherriff's Office Major Crimes Team also helped.

The entire response and investigation took about 14 hours to complete, said spokesman Officer Debrah Riedel.

Detectives don't know which Internet club the men were trying to enter, she said. She declined to say how the pair set up the shots, such as the distance between Beadle and Hoffman at the time the gun was fired.

Detectives became suspicious after interviewing all the people at the scene. After a search warrant, they found the gun, police said.

Both were booked into a Clark County jail.

-- Tony Hernandez

thernandez@oregonian.com

503-294-5928

@tonyhreports