Overnight shootings in Graham and Spanaway kill one man, and severely injure another

A pair of overnight shootings at bars in Graham and Spanaway killed one man and severely wounded another Sunday, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

Shortly before 2 a.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to a reported shooting in the 9800 block of 224th Street East in Graham. Initial information said one man had been shot, and the suspect was still at the scene.

Deputies found a a 26-year-old man with a gunshot wound in the road. He died at the scene, the department said in a statement.

The suspected shooter, a 25-year-old man, fled on an ATV and drove into a nearby field. Reports suggested the man was armed and hiding. Deputies called for a K-9 unit, and located the man with the help of the dog and thermal imagery.

The man was arrested and booked into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder.

The fatal incident in Graham followed an earlier shooting in Spanaway. Reports do not suggest the incidents were related.

The dispatch call in the Spanaway incident came at 1:21 a.m. Deputies responded to a bar in the 19300 block of Mountain Highway East, near the Roy Y intersection. Initial 911 calls said the shooting followed a concert, according to an account from the Sheriff’s Department.

The victim was not at the scene when deputies arrived. Witnesses said the man left in a car. Deputies soon found the vehicle and the wounded 38-year-old man a few blocks to the north. He was transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries.

investigators did not locate the suspected shooter. The investigation is ongoing.