Tacoma police arrest 19-year-old suspected in drive-by shooting that injured 4 teens

Tacoma police arrested a 19-year-old man Thursday, suspected in a May 21 drive-by shooting that injured four teens.

The original incident was reported about 5:30 p.m. that Saturday. Officers responded to a report of shots fire in the area of South 56th Street and Yakima Avenue, where a vehicle had stopped at a traffic light.

A second vehicle pulled alongside, and the driver fired shots at the teenagers in the car. The suspect vehicle then fled, police said. The teens drove to a local hospital, where they were treated for gunshot wounds.

Police said four of the five teenagers in the vehicle were injured: a 15-year-old girl, a 16-year-old girl, a 17-year-old girl, and a 17-year-old boy. An 18-year-old boy was also in the vehicle but was not hit by the shots, police said.

A statement from Tacoma Police spokesperson Wendy Haddow sent Thursday provided little detail about the subsequent investigation, saying only that “detectives and forensic staff identified the shooting suspect and developed probable cause for his arrest.”

Tacoma officers arrested the 19-year-old suspect at a residence in Tacoma, the statement said. The man was booked into the Pierce County Jail for five counts of first-degree assault and one count of drive-by shooting.