Teens charged as adults in shooting near Tacoma Mall Transit Center

Two Tacoma teenagers have been charged as adults in a shootout near the Tacoma Mall Transit Center that left a 17-year-old boy severely wounded.

Antione Trent and Isaac Miller, both 16, were arraigned Thursday on first-degree assault charges. Both pleaded not guilty, and Court Commissioner Meagan M. Foley set bail at $500,000 for each.

The wounded teen remains in the hospital in critical condition. He underwent his fifth surgery Thursday.

The shooting happened about 2:20 p.m. Saturday on South 47th Street.

Charging papers gave this account:

Miller and the 17-year-old were at the transit center together. Trent arrived on a bus. The teens interacted a few times before the 17-year-old punched Trent, starting a fist fight.

Surveillance footage from the transit center and the bus showed the boys brawling. It then showed Trent lose a shoe and the 17-year-old stoop to pick it up.

Trent pulled out a gun and shot the other teen in the stomach from 5 feet away. Miller and the 17-year-old ran and Trent fired at their backs.

“Miller then clearly pulls a gun out of his waistband and fires three shots in the direction of Trent,” prosecutors allege.

The two continue running and Trent allegedly shoots at them again.

Police found Miller tending to his friend at the scene. A .38-caliber revolver was next to him.

A .380 semiautomatic pistol was found in a trash can in an alley between South Fife Street and a big box store where Trent was seen fleeing.

“The State cannot emphasize enough the extreme danger of these shootings or the stunning nature of the security footage,” deputy prosecutor Jesse Williams wrote in charging documents.

“It is remarkable that no one other than (the 17-year-old) was hit by the gunfire, either civilians at the transit center or motorists on the busy thoroughfare that is South 47th Street.”

Trent has two prior felony convictions and Miller has one, records show.

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 10:09 AM with the headline "Teens charged as adults in shooting near Tacoma Mall Transit Center."