No-bail hold for man suspected in fatal Tacoma hospital shooting
A 25-year-old man is suspected of using a modified gun to shoot two people inside the waiting room of a Tacoma hospital.
Prosecutors charged Martice Lawon Ryan with first-degree murder and first-degree assault for the Aug. 6 shooting at MultiCare Allenmore Hospital at 1901 S. Union Ave. The shooting left a man dead and his girlfriend injured.
Police have said they believe an altercation happened outside the hospital and the alleged shooter followed the victims, The News Tribune reported. The woman who was shot told police she and the man did not know Ryan or have prior interactions with him, according to the probable cause affidavit.
A plea of not guilty was entered on Ryan’s behalf during his arraignment Monday afternoon in Pierce County Superior Court. Deputy prosecuting attorney Elizabeth Vincent requested bail be set at $1.5 million.
Court Commissioner Barbara McInvaille set a no-bail hold and said that further arguments for bail would be reserved for a future hearing.
Several family members of the man who was killed were in attendance for the arraignment, including his father.
“This wasn’t just a homicide, your honor, this was an act of terror. This was an act that took place in a hospital, again, where anyone in this community should feel safe,” the man’s father said in court, urging McInvaille that no bail be set.
Jaedyn Williams, 18 of University Place, was identified as the man killed in the shooting, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office on Aug. 13.
What do charging documents allege?
Officers were dispatched to the hospital at about 7:04 p.m. Dispatch learned gunshots were fired inside the waiting room of the emergency room and two people, a man and woman, had been injured. Hospital staff immediately provided medical aid to the victims, according to charging documents.
Documents show that the shooter ran off before police arrived. The man, identified as J.W. in the affidavit, had been shot multiple times and died at the hospital. The woman, identified as C.C., had a graze wound to the abdomen.
Detectives spoke to the woman who said she and the man drove to the hospital for his elbow pain, documents show. She said it did not appear they were being followed, and once they got to the parking lot a red Mazda SUV passed them. The driver slowed down as he drove by them while turning up his music.
The woman told detectives as she and the man checked into the ER, the alleged shooter entered and sat down. When the victims took their seats, the alleged shooter approached them with his arm inside his hoodie, documents show. He asked the man why he was staring at him, and the victim replied that he was not.
Documents show the alleged shooter asked the man if he knew him, to which the victim said he did not. The alleged shooter then said, “It’s about to get switchy in here.” Detectives wrote in charging documents that the comment likely referred to the use of a switch that can convert a semi-automatic handgun into a fully automatic handgun.
The alleged shooter took out a gun and fired at the victims, documents show. The woman said she did not recognize the man and said they did not have any interactions before they came to the hospital.
Video surveillance provided by MultiCare staff showed Ryan park at the hospital as the man and woman were walking into the emergency-room entrance. Ryan walked towards the entrance of the ER and past the victims, documents show. After the shooting, video footage showed Ryan allegedly running to his red Mazda at about 7:04 p.m.
Documents show the Mazda did not have front or rear license plates. Detectives eventually connected the Mazda to Ryan after they contacted the dealership that sold him the vehicle in March 2025. There was also body camera footage from June 2025 where a Puyallup officer stopped Ryan for not having license plates.
Detectives learned that Ryan has six guns registered to him, including two 10 mm handguns. That was the caliber of shell casings recovered at the hospital, documents show.
The gun used in the incident has not been recovered, prosecutors say, but there was a Glock box found in his car after his arrest.
Ryan was arrested in Kittitas County with assistance from Spokane police, the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service, according to the Tacoma Police Department Friday.
Records show Ryan was booked into the Pierce County Jail on Sunday afternoon.
Vincent said Ryan does not have a criminal history but is listed as suspect for six incidents between 2012 and 2025, including the Aug. 6 shooting.
This story was originally published August 11, 2025 at 4:13 PM.
