Officials identify man killed in Spanaway shooting

A 33-year-old man who died last week after accidentally shooting himself in Spanaway has been identified as James Roberts.

Pierce County sheriff’s investigators said the shooting occurred about 6:15 p.m. Saturday near a transient camp in the 13100 block of A Street South.

Roberts was homeless.

His death initially was investigated as a homicide because sheriff’s deputies found ammunition on the ground near Roberts’ body, but no sign of a gun.

Witnesses later revealed someone hid the firearm after the shooting.

Roberts was dry-firing the weapon and racking rounds in and out of its chamber, investigators said. He pointed the gun at himself and pulled the trigger, and a chambered round went off and killed him.

This story was originally published February 15, 2017 at 12:07 PM with the headline "Officials identify man killed in Spanaway shooting."