Fatal Tacoma road rage shooting occurred because car cut men off, records say
A car full of men “became upset” when another vehicle cut them off on a Tacoma street so they opened fire, killing one of the passengers, court documents say.
Victor Scott, 56, of Graham, died in Monday’s road rage incident near South 54th and South Washington streets.
On Friday, Pierce County prosecutors charged Keon Simms, one of the alleged gunmen, with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm. Simms, 24, pleaded not guilty and is jailed in lieu of $1 million.
Simms told police he was driving the car but did not shoot at the victims.
No other arrests have been made in the death of Scott, who was the fourth homicide victim in the city this year.
Charging papers give this account of the homicide:
A woman called police about 3:15 p.m. Jan 31 and said somebody was shooting at her car, one of her passengers was hit and she was taking him to St. Clare Hospital. Scott was later moved to Tacoma General Hospital, where he died.
The other two in the car with Scott told detectives they were looking for a buyer for a catalytic converter when they took a wrong turn and “inadvertently” cut off another vehicle on South Washington Street.
“She stated that the other vehicle proceeded to pull up next to her and several occupants waved guns at them,” records say.
The woman tried to drive away but the armed men followed, striking the back of her vehicle with theirs before they started shooting. After Scott yelled “I’m hit” from the backseat, his friend traveled several more blocks to make sure the armed men weren’t following, then pulled over to call 911.
Police found video surveillance footage of the road rage shooting, which showed the gunman’s Hyundai Sonata following the other car closely before the front passenger pointed a handgun out the window and fired. The driver, later identified as Simms, then did a U-turn so the back passenger could also shoot at the victims’ car.
Both 9mm and .40 caliber shell casings were found at the scene.
In the video surveillance, detectives were able to see the Oregon license plate and discovered the car had been rented by Simms’ mother, who told police her son had been struck by a hit-and-run driver in the Hyundai.
The rental car was found with the license plates removed and serious damage to the front end.
Simms was arrested Wednesday after his girlfriend tried to flee from officers trying to pull them over, but crashed her car.
A handgun was recovered from her vehicle. Simms said he bought it after the homicide, records say. The gun was reported stolen in Tacoma.
Simms is a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing weapons.
Prosecutors said Simms could face additional charges for a pursuit he mentioned to police that is still under investigation.
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 11:47 AM.
