Bellevue man charged with ‘unprovoked’ fatal shooting of Tacoma apartment tenant
A Bellevue man has been charged for shooting and killing another person outside a Tacoma apartment building on Monday.
Christopher Jadwick Lynch, 31, was arrested Monday afternoon for shooting a 31-year-old man who lived at the Lakeside Landing Apartments at the 7000 block of South 12th Street. Lynch was charged with two counts of second-degree murder on Wednesday, according to court records.
A plea of not guilty on grounds of self-defense was entered on Lynch’s behalf at his arraignment on Wednesday at Pierce County Superior Court. A court commissioner set his bail at $1 million.
Charging Details
On Monday after 1 p.m., Tacoma Police Department officers arrived at the Lakeside Landing Apartments regarding a shooting. The victim was lying on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound in his chest. The man did not have a pulse and after first aid was administered, he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the declaration for determination of probable cause.
Officers were advised that prior to the incident there were multiple calls from the apartment complex reporting that the man was kicking and banging on a neighbor’s door. There is a report which shows patrol officers contacted the man on Oct. 22 and accused him for causing a disturbance at the complex while armed with a knife, prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors wrote that one of the 911 callers was Lynch, who allegedly reported that he shot the man and would cooperate with police. After arriving on the scene, officers called Lynch out of an apartment, and he walked out with his hands over his head.
One witness told officers that prior to the shooting, he heard shouting outside his apartment. While he was working inside, he heard a gunshot and allegedly saw the victim walking away from Lynch, who was holding a gun. Another witness told police that the victim has a history of being threatening and disruptive. The evening prior, the man threatened the witness’ friend with a knife, prosecutors wrote.
Lynch told detectives he went to the apartment building because his girlfriend, who lives there, told him that the man was banging on her walls and door. Sometime after arriving, Lynch and his girlfriend walked to the sidewalk in front of her unit and saw the man. The man was allegedly going through his bag and then moved towards them. Lynch told officers he told the man to stay back multiple times before shooting him. Lynch said he “assumed” the man had something in his hands but did not know what, charging documents said.
Prosecutors wrote that detectives obtained video surveillance and saw Lynch allegedly walking out of his girlfriend’s apartment and past her car. He allegedly told detectives he was trying to go to her car. He began to approach the man on a sidewalk south of the apartment complex. The man was either standing or kneeling. When Lynch was five to eight feet away from the man, he allegedly drew his gun. Lynch, who was facing the man, allegedly takes a step or two backwards and the man falls to the ground, prosecutors wrote.
Lynch allegedly put his gun back in its holster and walked back to his girlfriend’s apartment, which is about 100 feet away from where the man was shot, charging documents show.
Prosecutors wrote that, according to the detective, they did not see the man move towards Lynch in the video. Instead, Lynch allegedly moved towards the man to close the distance. Detectives said that Lynch passing his girlfriend’s car was relevant because he told them he was planning to leave in it. Detectives called it an unprovoked shooting.
This story was originally published October 25, 2023 at 3:04 PM.
