Police arrest man for fatal shooting at Tacoma homeless encampment
A 33-year-old man has been arrested for a fatal shooting near a homeless encampment in Tacoma.
Police were called to the encampment near Sixth Avenue and South M Street about 7:40 p.m. Thursday by several people who heard gunshots.
They found a 38-year-old man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
The victim was taken to a hospital, where he died. He has not been publicly identified.
As detectives were investigating the scene, the 33-year-old man approached them to advise he’d been involved in the incident.
He was interviewed at the police station and early Friday was booked into Pierce County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder.
Pierce County prosecutors are expected to make a charging decision on the case Monday.
This is the second homicide at a Tacoma homeless encampment this year.
On Aug. 15, Terrance Wilkins was fatally shot in the 6600 block of South Alaska Street by three masked men who tried to rob a group of unhoused people.
A confrontation led to Wilkins being shot in the chest. He died at the scene.
Police have not made any arrests in the case.
In Thursday’s homicide, which is the 30th homicide in the city this year, witnesses reported seeing people use baseball bats to beat homeless people, according to local homeless advocacy groups. Two women were reportedly hospitalized with injuries.
“This was not an act of violence among people experiencing homelessness but rather an attack by housed people on the residents of a homeless encampment,” Kevin Glackin-Coley, director of special projects for the Tacoma-Pierce County Coalition to End Homelessness, said in a statement.
The police department has not released details about the incident and has not confirmed whether baseball bats were involved in the confrontation.
“This is an active, ongoing investigation and no further updates are available at this time,” police spokeswoman Wendy Haddow said Friday.
The incident at the encampment prompted government leaders and advocacy groups to speak out.
Megan Capes, co-chair of Tacoma Democratic Socialists of America, said the shooting was horrific and demonstrated a dire need for the city to take immediate action in finding shelter for unhoused community members.
“Everyone deserves safety and a place to call home without fear of violence,” she said.
Pierce County Councilman Marty Campbell tweeted about the attack Friday morning, saying, “My heart breaks for them. This is unacceptable. We need safe sheltering locations provided all across our county.”
Glackin-Coley, of the Coalition to End Homelessness, said ensuring there is housing for everyone in the community is a public safety issue that affects everyone.
“We understand the tensions that exist in neighborhoods where people experiencing homelessness establish encampments,” he said. “However ,these tensions cannot be used as a justification for acts of violence, but rather as a clarion call to individuals, organizations and local, county, and state officials to take the necessary steps to ensure that there are safe, warm, and dry housing options for all people.”
Tacoma Mutual Aid Collective planned to help encampment members hold a vigil for the victim at 7 p.m. Friday at the corner of Sixth Avenue and South M Street where he was killed.
This story was originally published December 4, 2020 at 12:25 PM.
