MOUNT VERNON — Maurine Kunferman was half asleep early Monday morning when she heard a noise like a cherry bomb.

The day before, kids lighting fireworks disrupted the relatively quiet neighborhood on North Eighth Street.

“I thought, ‘Those bad kids,’ ” Kunferman said.

A short time later, she heard a crash. It turned out to be the sound of a Jeep Cherokee striking the wooden siding of the home she and her husband, Louie Kunferman, have lived in for 50 years.

“My wife yelled: ‘Someone hit the house,’” he said.

He went to investigate.

Louie Kunferman said that at first, he thought the young man in the 1993 Jeep had suffered a heart attack, but he quickly made a far more gruesome discovery.

“He was dead,” said Louie Kunferman, who as a veteran of World War II can recognize the signs of violence. “He was shot right in the head.”

As of Monday, authorities hadn’t released the name of the victim, an 18-year-old Mount Vernon man. Detectives are working to piece together what led to the man’s death. No one has been arrested, and police haven’t named any suspects.

“Our belief, at this point, is the decedent suffered a gunshot wound,” said police Lt. Chris Cammock.

The injuries weren’t consistent with an accident, Cammock said. An autopsy is expected to be performed today to determine cause of death.

Investigators ask anyone with information to call 360-336-6271 or 911.

Cammock said residents of the Eighth Street neighborhood shouldn’t be concerned about their safety beyond the normal precautions.

“There isn’t any information or any indication that this was directed at the neighborhood,” Cammock said.

Investigators Monday interviewed residents and talked with people who knew the victim, police said. The Jeep was searched Monday evening for evidence, and more interviews are likely today and Wednesday.

Maurine Kunferman wasn’t the only person who awoke at the sound of gunfire. Two other neighbors told the Skagit Valley Herald that they might have heard a firecracker. Another person called 911 around 1:20 a.m. Monday, telling dispatchers that a shot was fired in the vicinity of the intersection of North Eighth and Fir Street, police say.

About two minutes after the first 911 call, Maurine Kunferman also dialed 911, reporting the Jeep’s collision with her home, according to Skagit County 911 records.
Early Monday morning, police blocked off the block and investigated the vehicle, the Kunfermans’ front yard and the nearby intersection, where Louie Kunferman said that he saw brass from at least one spent shell casing.

Investigators then had the Jeep towed to another location where they searched it for evidence.

It was still unclear Monday afternoon whether more than one shot was fired, Cammock said.

“The information we have beyond that is still kind of unfolding and very limited right now,” Cammock said.

Louie Kunferman said he didn’t recognize the young man in the Jeep, but later Monday, the victim’s brother and sister stopped by the home to see where the shooting had taken place.

“I felt sorry for those people,” Kunferman said. “I hope they get whoever did this.”

• Marta Murvosh can be reached at 360-416-2149 or .