Tacoma man said he was ‘going to kill some people’ before stabbings, charges say
A 29-year-old man is accused of stabbing three people at the clean-and-sober home in Tacoma before starting a fire Tuesday.
Prosecutors charged Andrew Cole Keen with four counts of second-degree attempted murder and first-degree arson. Court documents allege Keen’s mental health was deteriorating in the days before the incident.
Two people who were stabbed reportedly were in serious condition, but one had been released from the hospital. Another person had life-threatening injuries, The News Tribune reported.
A plea of not guilty was entered on Keen’s behalf during his arraignment Wednesday. Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner Barbara McInvaille set bail at $1 million, according to court records.
Information from charging documents
Keen’s father reported to 911 dispatch at about 4:11 a.m. that his son had messaged him and said he was “going to jail tonight because he was going to kill some people.” His father said Keen was supposed to be staying in a clean-and-sober house in Tacoma or Parkland, according to charging documents.
Another person reported to 911 at 4:34 a.m. that his roommate had a knife and stabbed another roommate in the 4000 block of South 34th Street. The caller said he did not witness any stabbings, but the roommate came to his room for help. He identified the alleged stabber as “Andrew,” documents show.
Documents show that Keen had been sharing a room with another victim who he allegedly stabbed. That roommate told dispatch he needed help as he was bleeding badly. Another caller reported to 911 he had been stabbed multiple times by “Andrew” who was last seen in the kitchen.
The house was on fire when police arrived, with flames visible in the front living room, according to charging documents. They found one of the victims bleeding from the abdomen.
The fire had exploded in the front room, and flames poured out of the open door, documents show. Officers found another person coming out of the house with flames on his upper body. People who lived downstairs escaped before the fire started, documents show.
Documents state the fire started in the front living room on the bunk-bed mattresses. Tacoma Fire Department personnel found two other attempted ignition locations for the fire when they swept the home. There were also items on the bottom of the stairs that had been set on fire, and it appeared Keen allegedly tried to trap the upstairs residents, documents state.
Keen was homeless before he moved into the home the previous Saturday, documents show. One of the residents told detectives that Keen had been going with him to AA meetings, but his mental health was declining over three days. He also missed a mental health evaluation.
Detectives learned there was a dispute on Monday where Keen accused a resident of stealing from him. He said he was mad that the resident had stolen his emotions or thoughts from his head, documents show. Two residents tried to calm Keen down before going to bed. One of the residents realized something was wrong when his roommate came into the room around 4 a.m. shouting as he had been stabbed and the house was on fire. The resident said he immediately knew Keen was involved.
Court documents show one of the roommates tried to intervene when Keen was stabbing his roommate. The roommate who intervened then was stabbed, and Keen allegedly chased him from the house. The roommate tried to run to a house next door for help, but Keen allegedly was following him. Video from a security camera allegedly showed the roommate saying, “Hey, hey, he’s coming to get me,” and Keen saying, “And it’s going to be worth it.” Keen eventually stopped following the roommate after chasing him around a vehicle and breaking the window.
Keen was arrested outside a convenience store two to three miles from the house. There was blood on his hands and clothes, documents state. When Keen was asked how the fire started, documents say, he only smiled. He then said he did not want to talk anymore until he spoke to an attorney, documents show. Keen was taken to the Pierce County Jail.
The knife used in the attacks was not recovered. A bloody box of wooden match sticks was found with Keen’s items.
Keen has previous convictions in Virginia for assault and battery and destruction of property. He has a warrant from SeaTac Municipal Court and an unconfirmed warrant from Kansas, court records show.
