Police pursuit of armed teenage girl ends with arrest inside Lakewood high school
A 17-year-old girl suspected of stealing a car at gunpoint Wednesday led deputies on a chase from a Frederickson apartment to Clover Park High School in Lakewood, where she ran inside with a pink and silver handgun.
The high school and surrounding schools were put on lockdown during the incident, but deputies said the suspected carjacker was inside Clover Park High School before it was completely locked down. The teenager was arrested inside.
No one was reported to be injured during the incident.
She was booked into the Remann Hall juvenile detention center on suspicion of first-degree assault, first-degree robbery, eluding a pursuing police vehicle and possession of a stolen firearm, Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said in a Facebook post.
A 15-year-old girl who was with the older teen also was arrested. She stayed inside the car when they reached the high school. She was booked for investigation of first-degree robbery.
The string of events began at about 1 p.m. when a 30-year-old woman called 911 to report her white Jeep had been stolen at gunpoint at an apartment complex in the 17400 block of 44th Avenue East.
Deputies went to the apartment to talk with the victim, and at the same time, another deputy saw the Jeep running red lights going west on 176th Street East, sheriff’s department spokesperson Sgt. Darren Moss said. They got behind the Jeep, and based on what deputies learned from talking to the victim, they had probable cause to pursue.
Moss said deputies tried to pull over the Jeep, but the driver did not comply. The driver briefly lost law enforcement, Moss said, but then a sergeant found the car and continued to pursue.
The chase continued to westbound state Route 512, where the Jeep went off the road by the on-ramp, damaging a front tire. Moss said the Jeep’s tire started to go flat, but the driver continued to flee.
The pursuit ended at Clover Park High School. Moss said the teenagers arrived on school grounds at about 1:23 p.m. The 17-year-old ran inside, and the school went into lockdown. Deputies detained the teenager inside 13 minutes later, at 1:36 p.m.
This story was originally published February 3, 2022 at 9:11 AM.
