Wounded trooper is recovering

SEATTLE – The father of the injured Washington State Patrol Trooper Dean Atkinson
Jr. gave an update on his son’s condition Monday. Dean Atkinson Sr. stated his son
was shot in his left hand an unknown number of times. The injured trooper used that
hand to protect his face. His son also received multiple gunshot wounds to the left side
of his head, which caused little to no damage, according to his father.

“Other than his head and hand, he has no other injuries,” Dean Atkinson Sr. said. “I
know there has been speculation on how this kid found the intestinal fortitude to drive
himself with one hand and gunshot wounds to the head to the hospital but his tattoo on
his arm he has had since becoming a trooper should make things very clear.”

The tattoo reads “Always come home.”

Dean Atkinson Sr. said his son’s breathing tube has been removed and that he
imagines he will be talking in the next couple of days.

The injured trooper was told he can return to duty once healed if he chooses and
pumped his fist and smiled from his hospital bed at Harborview Medical Center in
Seattle where he continues to recover.

Atkinson Jr. was shot Thursday evening in Walla Walla by suspected gunman, Brandon
Dennis O’Neel, 37, of Walla Walla. O’Neel was taken into custody shortly after the
shooting and is currently in custody. Charged with multiple felonies, O’Neel will be
arraigned on October 3.

Photo of WSP Trooper Dean Atkinson Junior’s tattoo

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Elkhorn Media Group

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