Drive-by shooting in Spanaway hits house, vehicle. Schools were briefly locked down
A drive-by shooting Thursday in Spanaway left an estimated 50 shell casings on a residential road and led to brief lockdowns at two nearby schools, Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies said.
No injuries were reported. Pierce County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Sgt. Darren Moss said Challenger High School and Camas Prairie Elementary School were placed on lockdown after two groups of people exchanged gunfire in the 18300 block of A Street South, striking at least one house and a vehicle.
The Sheriff’s Department responded at about 9:23 a.m. after 911 callers reported hearing gunshots. Moss said one caller reported seeing six “kids” running away after the shooting. He said he suspected they were teens or young adults.
Deputies said the two groups — one in a car and the other on foot — opened fire about 100 yards away from each other. Moss said he didn’t know how many shooters were involved. The shooting scene was about two blocks east of Pacific Avenue. Deputies canvassed the area but didn’t find any suspects.
Later in the morning, deputies shared a photo of a silver Hyundai sedan suspected to be connected to the drive-by. In a tweet, deputies said they believed the car was likely stolen because its driver’s side, rear window was broken. Deputies asked anyone who sees the car to call 911, and they advised people not to approach it.
Challenger High School was on a full lockdown for 10 minutes starting at about 9:35 a.m., Bethel School District spokesperson Doug Boyles said. That’s during 3rd period, he said. Camas Prairie was on a modified lockdown for three minutes, 15 minutes after school started. Boyles said in a modified lockdown, exterior doors of the school are locked and students stay in their classrooms while instruction continues.
This story was originally published January 26, 2023 at 10:41 AM.
