A fight over whose street gang was better ended early Wednesday with one man shot dead at a Lakewood apartment complex and another in jail.
Police were called to the Williamsburg Apartment in the 11200 block of Bridgeport Way Southwest about 3:30 a.m. by several residents who reported hearing gunshots. Some said they saw one man dragging another into the parking lot.
Officers responded within two minutes and spotted a body in the parking lot. As they approached, the alleged shooter came running out of an apartment with a handgun, yelling that he was going to kill the victim, police said.
The 32-year-old man followed officers’ orders to drop the gun and get on the ground.
He was booked into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder and is expected to be charged today. Deputies recovered the gun.
The victim, identified as Charles Pitts, 29, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Lt. Chris Lawler said the alleged gunman and Pitts are members of rival street gangs.
They were hanging out at another man’s apartment when they got into a heated argument about whose gang was better. Police said the argument evolved into a fist fight and that Pitts seemed to be gaining the upper hand.
“The suspect got tired of fighting, pulled out a handgun from his waistband and shot the victim,” a police news release states.
The man whom the two were visiting was not in the same room at the time of the shooting though he witnessed the fight and heard gunshots, Lawler said.
Stacia Glenn: 253-597-8653 stacia.glenn@thenewstribune.com
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