Lakewood shooting that wounded bystander started with staring and a punch, charges say
Update Feb. 5, 2025: Police arrested Moran on Monday, the Lakewood Police Department said in a press release. Officers located him in a vehicle in Federal Way. Moran was a passenger, and with the assistance of Federal Way police, he and others in the vehicle were taken into custody after a brief pursuit.
Moran pleaded not guilty to his charges at arraignment Wednesday. Judge Joseph Evans ordered him held in custody in lieu of $300,000 bail.
Original story: Aggressive staring and a thrown punch led to gunfire that struck two people last month inside Lakewood’s B&I Public Marketplace, including an innocent bystander at an ATM, according to charging documents.
Pierce County prosecutors on Friday accused Victor C. Moran Jr., 17, of two counts of first-degree assault and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm for the Jan. 17 incident. According to the probable-cause document, Moran is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but his permanent residence is unknown. A bench warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Per state law, people age 16 or 17 are automatically prosecuted in adult court when they allegedly committed a serious violent offense such as first-degree assault.
Through witness interviews, Lakewood Police Department detectives learned that a group of people was waiting for a phone to be repaired at the shopping center on South Tacoma Way when they walked to the food court. There, a male in a red sweatshirt, later identified as Moran, was reportedly “mean mugging” them.
Moran was with another group of people, one of whom later told investigators that it was the other group who was aggressively staring in their direction.
Surveillance video showed the two groups briefly meet in a hallway before Moran allegedly pulled a tan-colored handgun and fired two shots.
When the groups met, a witness told detectives, Moran said, “Yo, what’s up?” A person in the other group then threw a punch, and he later told police that his swing missed. A person in Moran’s group told police they believed the punch landed, according to court records, and Moran responded by producing a gun and firing.
Police responded to reports of a shooting at about 5:20 p.m. Upon arrival, they found a woman who had been standing at an ATM when she was hit by a stray bullet. She suffered a through-and-through gunshot wound to both legs and was transported to a hospital.
About 25 minutes later, a male who was with the group that walked by Moran arrived at a Tacoma hospital with a gunshot wound to the foot.
Investigators recovered two 9 mm bullet casings, according to court records, and B&I security detained a witness who arrived with the suspect.
Exterior surveillance video showed Moran being left behind in the parking lot as a white 2013 Chrysler 200 drove south from the scene. Moran allegedly fled north through a car dealership.
Cell phone records allegedly placed Moran at or near the shopping center within minutes of the shooting. Investigators also located a Facebook account with Moran’s name with a 2022 profile photo that was a “direct match” to B&I surveillance footage.
This story was originally published February 4, 2025 at 9:00 AM.
