Mass shooting in Lakewood may be tied to gang killings in Tacoma, charges say
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Pierce County charged a 19-year-old man with three counts of first-degree assault.
- Investigators linked Lakewood shooting to Tacoma homicides and gang activity.
- Witnesses and social media helped identify suspects and reconstruct shooting events.
The mass shooting at Lakewood’s Harry Todd Park in May that wounded seven people might have been connected to gang-related homicides in Tacoma, one of which led to a livestreamed desecration of a victim’s memorial site.
That’s according to charging documents filed in Pierce County Superior Court against Na’Quarius Tyshawn Seale. The 19-year-old Spanaway man was arrested this week and is accused of three counts of first-degree assault for allegedly shooting a 17-year-old man at the lakefront park after challenging him to a fight, prompting return gunfire that injured bystanders.
Among the people struck was a 38-year-old man left in critical condition due to being shot in the liver, a 38-year-old woman whose legs were shot, a 20-year-old man shot in the cheek and four teenagers variously struck in the shoulder, elbow, buttocks and knee.
A plea of not guilty was entered on Seale’s behalf at an arraignment hearing Thursday, court records show. Court Commissioner Barbara McInvaille ordered that the defendant be held in jail in lieu of $2 million bail.
An attorney for Seale was not yet listed in court records. He does not appear to have any prior criminal convictions as an adult.
Seale is the first person to be arrested in connection to the May 28 shooting that scattered parkgoers on a warm spring evening.
Sgt. Charles Porche, a spokesperson for the Lakewood Police Department, said Friday that Seale was arrested on a bench warrant in the Seattle area by a different law enforcement agency. He said detectives were still investigating other suspects, including the 17-year-old man Seale allegedly challenged to a fight before the shooting, identified in charging documents as J.C.
Investigators identified Seale and J.C. as being involved based on witness videos, scene evidence, social-media posts and witness identifications, records show.
According to a probable cause document dated June 17, investigators found that J.C.’s best friend and high school football teammate was killed in a homicide in Tacoma’s Salishan neighborhood in April. It was one of two homicides in Salishan that detectives found to be potentially connected to the Lakewood shooting. Records state that two suspects arrested by Tacoma police were confirmed members of gangs Seal was associated with.
A detective wrote in a report that shortly after the second homicide, members of the same gang livestreamed themselves kicking and stomping on candles at the memorial site of J.C.’s friend.
Porche could not confirm which homicides in Tacoma were potentially connected to the Lakewood shooting. According to previous reporting from The News Tribune, three people were killed in or near the Salishan neighborhood in April. Marco Teran, 16, was fatally wounded April 12. Veron Lockett, 17 and a Mount Tahoma High School football player, was killed April 20. A man who has not yet been publicly identified by the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office was killed April 27.
A witness to the Lakewood shooting who was interviewed by detectives reportedly saw Seale arrive with a group of men dressed in heavy jackets and hoodies. The witness said he recognized Seale as “Mikro” from Instagram and briefly spoke with him. Seale allegedly asked where J.C. was.
“[The witness], aware of a long-standing feud between J.C.’s and Seale’s group, casually avoided the question,” a police report states. “He then entered the bathroom before the shooting occurred.”
J.C. was interviewed by detectives. He was shot in the knee during the incident and was transported to St. Joseph Medical Center. It’s unclear where or when his interview with detectives occurred, but he reportedly said he’d been at Harry Todd Park for hours without incident until a large group arrived. He recalled encountering Seale near the bathroom.
“He said that Seale challenged him to a fight, which he accepted,” the police report states. “However, Seale drew a handgun and fired at J.C., who attempted to take cover behind a vehicle. J.C. stated that he was shot in the arm while fleeing.”
Detectives believe that J.C. shot back at Seale with a semi-automatic handgun that was modified with a switch, allowing it to fire fully automatic. Investigators determined four people were hit by J.C.’s bullets.
Two people who were behind J.C. were shot, including the man who was critically injured. Investigators believe their wounds came from shots fired by Seale and/or the group he was with.
