3 shot, one dead outside Sumner after house party and alleged fight turns deadly
Three people were injured, including one fatally, after a shooting early Saturday morning believed to be related to a fight at a house party just outside Sumner, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.
A 30-year-old man, who died hours later at a local hospital, had been discovered by authorities severely injured in the home’s driveway. Two 16-year-old boys were taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Darren Moss said in a brief interview.
Deputies responded to a report of the shooting in the 7400 block of Riverside Drive shortly before 2 a.m., with assistance from Bonney Lake and Puyallup police departments, the Sheriff’s Department said in a post on Facebook.
A Honda fleeing the scene rammed a Bonney Lake police cruiser before authorities apprehended two 16-year-old boys -- not the gunshot-wound victims -- inside the vehicle after pushing the Honda into a parked car, according to the Sheriff’s Department. A handgun was found on the Honda’s floor, authorities said.
The two teens, whose connection to the shooting is still under investigation, were booked into Remann Hall juvenile detention center, according to Moss. The driver was booked on suspicion of second-degree assault for allegedly ramming the cruiser and both were suspected of unlawfully possessing a firearm.
Detectives investigating the shooting learned that a party was being thrown at the house, the Sheriff’s Department said. Video produced by the agency at the scene showed a poster on a gate that advertised “senior night” for upperclassmen only.
Investigators believe that one of the teenage victims had been kicked out following a fight and returned to the party, possibly with the two other victims. It’s also believed that a door to a barn was opened before somebody started shooting, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Complicating detectives’ investigation, the homeowners’ daughter who threw the party had unplugged and covered cameras at the home that potentially could have provided authorities with evidence.
“It’s extremely difficult because those cameras capture the barn doors,” Moss said, when asked how not having that footage made the investigation more challenging. “We would have all the angles mostly covered, I think.”
The girl’s parents, who own the home, were out of town on vacation, according to Moss.
Anyone with any information about the shooting may visit TPCrimeStoppers.com, call 1-800-222-TIPS or use the P3 Tips app on their mobile phone.
This story was originally published September 14, 2024 at 1:39 PM.
