Gunman with an infant in the car hit studio where students practicing martial arts
It started with the sale of a stolen gun and ended with a drive-by shooting in Lakewood.
No one was injured, but a stray bullet went through the window of a martial arts class where eight students were practicing.
“... the trajectory of that round posed a real risk of hitting someone,” according to court documents.
Pierce County prosecutors on Thursday charged an 18-year-old man with drive-by shooting and three counts of second-degree assault.
They said they might add eight more counts of second-degree assault, one for each student in the martial arts studio.
The alleged shooter is not in custody. Police identified him through surveillance video outside the gas station where the shooting took place Jan. 9.
Charging documents give this account:
A group of four people and an infant parked at a convenience store near Steilacoom Boulevard SW and Bridgeport Way SW so one of the men could sell a stolen gun to an acquaintance.
Two men approached the vehicle, and one of the car’s passengers got out to talk.
Video footage shows them arguing, the passenger getting back inside the car and the potential buyer lunging inside the car before running off.
That’s when two of the passengers got out and started shooting, records show.
One man fired two rounds, one of which went across the street and through the window of the martial arts building.
The other alleged shooter’s gun apparently jammed.
By the time police arrived, everyone in the group was gone.
Officers were able to identify at least two of the car’s passengers and the potential gun buyer.
The man who planned to sell the gun told detectives the potential buyer gave him fake money so he declined to sell the firearm. After getting back in the car, the buyer allegedly lunged inside and grabbed the weapon.
The buyer, a 20-year-old man, has been charged with first-degree robbery.
Stacia Glenn: 253-597-8653
This story was originally published January 19, 2018 at 10:31 AM with the headline "Gunman with an infant in the car hit studio where students practicing martial arts."