‘Mom, help me, I think I’m dying.’ Man charged with killing 17-year-old Tacoma girl
An 18-year-old man has surrendered to Tacoma police in the killing of a teenager from Saturday.
Aiden Ray Tyrrell was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault, drive-by shooting and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, court records show.
The 17-year-old female was shot in the 1800 block of South 15th Street outside her home. The name of the victim will be released by the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Tyrrell and the teenager had a romantic relationship, but they had broken up around the time of the shooting. Tyrrell was supposed to give her back her belongings that day, but when he pulled up to her apartment, he allegedly shot her and drove off, charging documents show.
A plea of not guilty was entered on Tyrrell’s behalf at his arraignment on Wednesday. Superior Court Commissioner Barbara McInvaille set his bail at $3 million.
Incident Details
Tacoma police were dispatched to the Midtown Apartments for report of a shooting at about 8:20 p.m. One witness said they saw a tan four-door sedan slow down. A shot was fired from the car, which then drove off. The teenager was shot in the torso and taken to the hospital by her father where she was pronounced deceased, documents show.
The teenager was talking to her sister over the phone when the shooting happened. She said that Tyrrell was coming over to the home to meet her. The sister heard the teenager say, “Okay, he’s coming.” Then, she heard the teenager open the door and scream twice. There were some muffled noises, and the teenager’s sister said she hung up and called their mother, prosecutors wrote.
The teenager’s mother told police that when she arrived at the home, her daughter was on the ground. The teenager was saying, “Mom, help me, I think I’m dying.”
Police learned that the previous week, the teenager and Tyrrell had been arguing. He allegedly had been sending her threatening messages. On March 21, Tyrrell texted the teenager that he was outside her house. He accused her of cheating on him and told her that he had a gun. He allegedly continued to threaten her to come outside, but she was scared, prosecutors wrote.
Tyrrell allegedly shot into her next-door neighbor’s apartment and drove away, documents show.
A relative told police that Tyrrell and the teenager had a toxic relationship, and she was secretive about it because she was not supposed to date him. The relative said she previously had seen Tyrrell with a handgun.
Tyrrell was arrested in April 2023 after fleeing from a stolen car. A handgun was found in the car, prosecutors wrote.
Detectives learned that Tyrrell texted the teenager’s sister Saturday night, saying he did not do anything and he was with his aunt the whole time. Tyrrell’s aunt later told detectives that she last saw him at her home at 1:30 p.m., several hours before the shooting, prosecutors wrote.
Tyrrell is in custody at Pierce County Jail. He was previously convicted for second-degree taking a motor vehicle without permission and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
This story was originally published March 27, 2024 at 10:29 AM.
