Employee at Tacoma hotel shoots man who pulled knife on 3 people, police say
An employee at a hotel on South Hosmer Street in Tacoma shot and injured a 45-year-old man Tuesday night who police say pulled a knife and attacked a man and two women.
Police said hotel employees called 911 immediately after the shooting to report what occurred. The man was taken to an area hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. Police said no one else was injured.
Tacoma Police Department officers were called about 11:49 p.m. to the Quality Inn & Suites at 8810 S. Hosmer St. Spokesperson Wendy Haddow said a 911 caller reported that an employee had just shot a man.
Haddow said police have trespassed the man from the property before. On Tuesday night, he returned to the business. Employees asked him to leave, but he refused.
Police said the man, 45, then attacked two employees and a bystander while armed with a knife. Haddow didn’t have details of the attack. She said a 32-year-old woman shot the man once.
A front desk employee who asked that their name not be used told The News Tribune that the incident began at the beginning of the night shift. They said the hotel has dealt with difficult situations in the past, but this was a first.
“Nothing like that has ever happened that drastically,” the employee said. “The street is wild. We try to handle it as best as we can.”
The employee worked through the night and was still on shift Wednesday morning.
Haddow said after the man who was shot is released from the hospital, he will be booked into Pierce County Jail for investigation of three counts of first-degree assault.
This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 8:25 AM.
