16-year-old Tacoma teenager killed in shooting identified. A suspect has been charged
A teenager who was fatally shot in January has been identified as 16-year-old Jonathan Tovar of Tacoma, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Tovar died from a gunshot wound to the head on Jan. 25 near the 4400 block of Portland Avenue East in Tacoma. The manner of death is homicide, the medical examiner said in a news release Wednesday.
A 15-year-old boy was arrested in King County on Monday on suspicion of first-degree murder. Pierce County prosecutors charged the boy with two counts of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, court records show.
The News Tribune generally does not name juveniles charged with a crime. That could change if prosecutors charge them as adults.
Tacoma officers were dispatched that day at about 1:30 p.m. for reports of a shooting. Tovar was taken to the hospital after he suffered several gunshot wounds. He succumbed to his injuries six days later, according to a Tacoma Police Department news release.
A witness told police that two people approached the teenager and shot him multiple times before they fled in a vehicle, The News Tribune reported in January. The investigation is on-going, according to police.
The boy who’s been arrested was identified as the suspect on Sept. 6 and a warrant was issued for his arrest by the Pierce County Juvenile Court at Remann Hall, the release said.
