AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. — In the shadow of mountains, piles of dirt are trucked into an otherwise quiet motocross park in Airway Heights.
Josh Hitchens is helping prepare another ride for his motocross family.
“We’re one big family. We all care about each other, so it’s a pretty big deal," the owner of Airway Motocross Park said.
A big deal that this will be the first ride without one of the family.
John Franklin was confirmed to be the shooting victim who died Saturday on E. Hawthorne Rd. The Spokane County Sheriff's Office said he was one of two people shot by a security guard.
Hitchens says for the nine years he's run the track, John was there.
“Riding dirt bikes," Hitchens said. "What we do out here.”
Franklin and his sons would come out nearly every weekend, Hitchens recalled, on the dirt hours before anyone else.
“Just walk the track, check the track out, help water, pick rocks," he said.
The sheriff's office reports Franklin was approached by a security guard, suspected of trespassing on federal land near Bonneville Power Administration.
He and another male, identified by friends like Hitchens as Franklin's teenage son, were shot by the guard after some sort of physical fight, the sheriff's office said Monday.
“Didn’t really know what happened," Hitchens said of when he learned of the incident Saturday. "We just saw a picture of their truck, everybody recognized it. Actually immediately texted John just saying, ‘There’s some crazy stuff going around. Hope you guys are ok.’ Not even knowing he was already gone.”
Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) told KREM 2 News the following:
"The Bonneville Power Administration is aware of the incident occurring adjacent to a BPA facility on Sept. 30 in Spokane, Washington, that involved a member of our contracted security force. We take very seriously the tragic loss of life and are fully cooperating with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, which is leading the investigation."
BPA declined to identify which security firm it uses at the facility. Further inquiries were directed to the sheriff's office.
Hitchens and other family friends say Franklin and his son were near BPA to ride dirt bikes, something they often did when the Airway Heights track was rained out or if a race was going on. Hitchens himself used to frequent the spot known as "Secret Sands" years ago.
“The MX community kind of took the place over and there was never any problems riding there. I’ve personally been riding out there, ridden by sheriffs and they never even pumped the brakes," he said.
The investigation isn't over yet.
“Hopefully through discovery the full story will come out," Hitchens said, not wanting to speculate on any of the limited information that's been released so far.
Until that full story is out, Hitchens will prepare for another ride to support his motocross family. He remembers Franklin as a devoted father to his three children.
He and other family friends tell KREM 2 News Franklin's son is still recovering after surgeries for gunshots to his femur and wrist.
“We’re gonna do our best to help support them," he said. "And the kids, we're going to be there for them as much as we can."
Airway Motocross Park has fundraisers planned, including Sunday. All practice fees and any donations raised from riders will go to the Franklin family.
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