An Alaska man who came to stay with family on Vashon in recent weeks has been charged with assault after, police and family say, he shot at his mother’s partner several times, hitting him once in the arm.

The incident led to a large police response on the island. It was also the result of a mental health crisis, stemming from significant mental illness experienced by the man, 26-year-old Dawson Porter, his family says — they had been working for weeks on the island to get him help, such as entrance to an inpatient mental health facility, and to prevent his condition from escalating to this point.

Porter is charged with first-degree assault, first-degree malicious mischief and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. He’ll enter an initial plea during his arraignment at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 25 at the King County Courthouse. His bail was set at $200,000 during his first appearance .

A GoFundMe campaign for the couple, accessible at gofund.me/aa0419f5, had raised about $7,100 by Tuesday. In that fundraiser, Diana Porter, the younger sister of Dawson, wrote that the incident came after Dawson came to Vashon from his home state of Alaska.

Following weeks of efforts to help stabilize Dawson, including “countless hours in and out of hospitals just trying to get him stable,” Diana Porter wrote, Dawson “lost it” after being dropped off at the Vashon home near Wax Orchard Road on Feb. 10 by police, following an incident earlier that day.

According to a police report, Porter became agitated and began making veiled threats to the couple. He loaded a rifle in the house, and when confronted, shot at his mother’s partner multiple times, hitting him once in the arm. As the mother and her partner fled the house, Porter continued firing rounds into the house and into furniture, electronics and other items. Law enforcement arrested him without incident after arriving on scene.

According to the GoFundMe campaign, the chaotic incident caused more than $50,000 in damages to the home.

The incident, as it unfolded, prompted an email to families from the Vashon Island School District, alerting them that due to the active police presence near Wax Orchard Rd, a district’s school bus had to make an emergency detour and would return to Chautauqua Elementary School. At the time, the bus was carrying 12 high school and middle school students.

Parents were advised to pick up students at Chautauqua Elementary School who normally ride the bus after its regular run for McMurray and VHS students — resulting in a long line of cars in the school’s parking lot that afternoon.

The Beachcomber will continue to cover this story.

Help is available if you or someone you know is in crisis.

Dial 988 to reach the suicide and crisis lifeline, which provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, and prevention and crisis resources. You can also call 1-866-427-4747, a 24-hour, toll-free, telephone hotline for immediate, confidential assistance for those in distress in the King County area.

Vashon Youth and Family Services offers counseling and other resources. Contact the organization at 206-463-5511.

The Vashon DOVE project serves those who have experienced domestic violence. You can call their advocacy line at 206-462-0911.

In an emergency, call 911.