Man suspected of shooting stranger in Tacoma because he ‘felt anger’
A warrant has been issued for a man suspected of shooting a stranger outside a Tacoma apartment complex because he “felt anger,” according to court documents.
Pierce County prosecutors charged the 20-year-old with first-degree assault for the April 9 attack.
The victim survived the shooting but suffered a punctured stomach, lacerated liver, lung contusions and fractured ribs.
Charging papers give this account:
The victim went outside his apartment building at South 45th and South Alder streets to smoke a cigarette.
While out there, he heard a voice from a second floor balcony, heard running footsteps and then saw a man pointing a pistol at him.
Witnesses reported seeing the shooter run into one of the apartment buildings.
Detectives figured out the suspected gunman’s name and determined he had been staying in the complex with two friends.
Although the friends initially lied to police, one of them eventually told detectives he’d been awakened by a gunshot the night of the shooting.
He checked his closet for his 9mm and saw it was missing.
When his friend appeared on the apartment patio about 15 minutes later, he confronted him about taking the gun but his friend denied it.
Days later, the defendant allegedly admitted he’d shot the victim and taken the pistol.
“The defendant said he felt threatened and needed the gun for protection,” records say.
He told his friend that he shot the victim because he “felt anger” and eventually put the gun back in the closet, where police retrieved it.
Police believe the suspected shooter has fled the state.
He is a “flight risk and the defendant is a significant danger to the community since this shooting was completely unprovoked and without any history between the defendant and his victim,” prosecutors wrote in charging papers.
They said they will ask for $1 million bail when the suspected shooter is captured.
This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 10:04 AM.
