The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office has arrested two teens in connection with Thursday afternoon's drive-by shooting in the 7800 block of Samurai Drive near Lacey.
A 15-year-old boy was shot in the right thigh after the shooting occurred at roughly 3:45 p.m., and he was treated at an area hospital. Witnesses reported that three youths were walking on Samurai Drive when a gray car drove by, and the passenger fired six to eight shots from the vehicle at the group.
Only the 15-year-old was struck by gunfire. Thurston County Sheriff's Sgt. Ray Brady said Friday the teen was in stable condition in an area hospital.
Detectives located a 16-year-old suspect, believed to be the driver of the gray vehicle, at a residence on Queets Drive Friday morning, Brady said. The vehicle believed to have been involved in the shooting was located at the Queets Drive residence. An 18-year-old suspect, believed to be the shooter, was placed into custody at River Ridge High School Friday morning, Brady said.
Later Friday, Brady added that detectives had recovered a semiautomatic .22-caliber handgun believed to have been involved in the shooting. The gun was recovered at a residence in the Rainier Vista Mobile Home Park on Steilacoom Road.
Brady said a video of a recent fight between the 16-year-old suspect and the shooting victim obtained from a cell phone helped detectives identify the suspects. Thursday's shooting is believed to have been the outcome of a longstanding dispute between two groups of youths.
The two suspects were each booked Friday on suspicion of two counts of first-degree assault and one count of attempted murder.
Jeremy Pawloski: 360-754-5445 jpawloski@theolympian.com
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