Fight ‘over a girl’ at Sprinker Rec Center leaves two men shot, in critical condition
It started with fists, ended with guns and now two men are in critical condition following a fight Monday night in the parking lot of Sprinker Recreation Center in Pierce County.
Sheriff’s deputies were sent to the area around 9:30 p.m. after a report of a shooting. The lot was empty, but deputies found over 30 shell casings and blood.
Sometime later, two shooting victims, one 25 and the other 22, appeared at a Parkland emergency room. Both were taken to Tacoma General Hospital in critical condition, according to the Sheriff’s Department. Detectives and forensic investigators collected evidence and interviewed witnesses at the scene of the shooting.
Detectives soon learned the 25-year-old victim and the 19-year-old shooting suspect had met at the parking lot for a fight.
“The two knew each other from work and had been arguing over a girl,” the Sheriff’s Department stated in a blog post. “The suspect had recently been harassing the victim at his new place of employment and they agreed to this fight.”
After the fight, a 19-year-old friend of the suspect’s tried to fight the victim but he refused, according to Sheriff’s spokesperson Sgt. Darren Moss. The suspect’s friend chased the victim around the parking lot until the suspect allegedly pulled out a gun and sprayed bullets, hitting both the victim and a 22-year-old male bystander.
Arrest
Undercover deputies found the suspect’s vehicle late Tuesday morning and arrested him during a felony stop in the 5600 block of South Yakima Avenue. Also in the vehicle was the suspect’s friend from the previous night. That man allegedly had a loaded Glock handgun with an extended magazine and an illegal full-auto switch.
Investigators believe the Glock is the weapon used in the shooting, Moss said.
The main suspect was booked into the Pierce County Jail for investigation of two counts of first-degree assault. His friend was arrested and booked for unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm.
Both victims were in critical condition Tuesday morning, the Sheriff’s Department said.
