He was shot 21 times in Tacoma elevator. His estate has sued for wrongful death
The estate of a young man gunned down in a Tacoma elevator has sued the Tacoma Housing Authority for wrongful death.
Messiah Washington, 18, died after being shot multiple times Feb. 22, 2025 in an apartment building in the 1100 block of South L Street in the Hilltop neighborhood.
Four teenagers were charged in his death, two with murder, the others with attempted robbery, according to court documents. Those charged with attempted robbery pleaded guilty and were sentenced to the state’s juvenile rehabilitation system.
The lawsuit was filed May 21 in Pierce County Superior Court by the firm Mickelsen Dalton of Charleston, South Carolina. It contends housing authority officials and management of the Housing Hilltop apartment building where Washington died were negligent in his death.
Housing Hilltop is an affordable-housing complex operated by the Tacoma Housing Authority, which “provides high-quality, stable and sustainable housing and supportive services to people in need. It does this in ways that help them prosper and help our communities develop equitably. THA maintains a portfolio of more than 1,800 dwelling units and serves more than 5,000 families through our housing, voucher, property-based subsidy, and client support programs.”
The housing authority had not filed an answer to the lawsuit as of Tuesday afternoon, and attempts to reach a spokesperson there for comment were unsuccessful.
According to the lawsuit: “In the years prior to the shooting described herein, the subject premises was the site of extensive prior criminal activity, including shots fired incidents, armed robberies, and assaults, that made it foreseeable to Defendants that further criminal acts, including the acts leading to the death of Mr. Washington, were likely to occur. The management and ownership of the subject premises, including its employees and staff, knew or should have known of the criminal activity on the premises as described herein.
“Despite this knowledge, Defendants and their employees, agents and ownership did nothing to secure the property or otherwise make common areas safe and secure for persons residing at or visiting the subject apartment complex and its common areas.”
Charging documents from Superior Court said Washington was shot minutes after the four teenagers — two who either lived in the building or had family there — knocked on Washington’s door, The News Tribune previously reported. Prosecutors said in court documents it is reasonable to infer they were trying to rob Washington’s father or a friend of his known to traffic stolen guns and other property.
Instead, the teens allegedly surrounded Washington in the building’s elevator, court records show.
“Without warning or provocation, one of the assailants ... pulled his firearm and shot Mr. Washington multiple times at point blank range,” the wrongful death lawsuit states. “Thereafter, another assailant ... stood over Mr. Washington as he lay dying on the elevator floor and fired more bullets into Mr. Washington’s body.
“An autopsy of Mr. Washington revealed that, in total, he had twenty-one entry and exit gunshot wounds.”
The lawsuit seeks financial damages for Washington’s pain and suffering, funeral and burial expenses and other costs and losses.
