Drug trafficking might have played a role in the fatal shooting of a 32-year-old Lakewood man Monday night, police said Tuesday.
Investigators were trying to piece together what happened in the 5300 block of San Francisco Avenue Southwest. No one has been arrested, and the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office had not yet identified the victim.
Neighbors called 911 about 9:45 p.m. to report a man had been shot at the Greenwood Apartments. Officers arrived and began CPR on the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
A language barrier made it difficult to interview witnesses, so a translator was brought out to talk to the victim’s roommate and other witnesses, who spoke Spanish, police Lt. Chris Lawler said.
The roommate told detectives he last saw the victim standing outside their apartment Monday night. Some time later, he heard the victim yell his name and then a gunshot. The victim had been shot inside the apartment, but the roommate dragged him to the front door and yelled for neighbors to call 911.
One witness reported seeing a man possibly talking to the victim before the shooting, Lawler said, but it was unclear whether the second man was involved in the shooting. No description was available.
“A quantity of illegal narcotics was found in the victim’s apartment, and it’s possible that drug trafficking played a role in the homicide,” according to a police statement.
Police declined to say what type of drugs was found in the apartment or how much.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call police at 253-830-5000 or the tip line at 253-830-5064.
Stacia Glenn: 253-597-8653stacia.glenn@thenewstribune.com
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