One year after a Puyallup barber was fatally shot, police ask public’s help to ID killer
Police continue to search for the person who killed a Puyallup barber one year ago.
Jose Velez, 43, was fatally shot on Nov. 30, 2022, at JQ’s Barbershop in the 100 block of East Stewart Avenue. The shooting took place at about 5 p.m. while Velez was cutting a child’s hair. The shooter fled. He was wearing dark clothing, according to a Puyallup Police Department news release.
A previous News Tribune report described the suspect as 5 feet 8 inches tall.
Police said Velez was shot multiple times by a gunman who walked directly to the area where he was working. Velez died at the scene, the story said.
Police do not believe robbery was the motive. The child who was sitting in the chair was an 8-year-old boy, and several other people were in the shop at the time, the story said.
Velez was a husband and father. He lived in Tacoma for at least 10 years and was known to many barbers in the area. Velez would give out haircuts to those who couldn’t afford them and mentored young people looking to make it out on their own, according to a previous News Tribune story.
Anyone with information can call the Puyallup Police Department tip line at 253-770-3343 or email tips@puyallupwa.gov.
