Suspected robber said he ‘got scared’ so he shot woman during Tacoma robbery

A suspected robber accused of shooting a woman at a Tacoma event center after emptying the safe said he pulled the trigger because he “got scared,” according to court documents.

The 19-year-old pleaded not guilty Thursday to first-degree assault, first-degree robbery, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree burglary and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

He was ordered held on $1 million bail.

Pierce County prosecutors said he has three prior convictions for serious offenses.

Charging papers give this account:

On Aug. 26, two masked men entered the event center in the 5600 block of South Washington Street after it closed for the night and forced the manager upstairs at gunpoint.

They made other employees lie on the floor while the manager was told to open the safe.

“After the suspects obtained the money, one of them tripped and some of the money ended up falling on the floor of the victim business,” records show. “After the suspects left, the (victim) was walking in the victim business when she heard a pop and felt pain in stomach.”

Tacoma police said at least one of the robbers returned to the event center to shoot the manager after they’d fled with thousands of dollars. The manager was critically injured.

The other employees present said they saw the manager leave the room and heard gunshots, so they barricaded themselves in the upstairs room. They did not witness the shooting.

Police received a tip about who was involved with the robbery and spoke to one of their girlfriends, who said the men were in Las Vegas. One of the suspected robbers eventually called detectives and said he wanted to turn himself in.

The man allegedly told police the shooting was an “accident.”

“We went there for a straight-up robbery, but didn’t get anything, so we went back and when she was on the stairs I got scared,” records show.

It’s unclear whether the second robber has been charged.

This story was originally published January 5, 2018 at 1:33 PM with the headline "Suspected robber said he ‘got scared’ so he shot woman during Tacoma robbery."