Tacoma victim in pair of Pierce County killings IDed by Medical Examiner
The victim of a homicide in Tacoma earlier this week has been identified by the Pierce County Medical Examiner.
According to the ME’s public portal, the man was 46-year-old James Trujillo.
Trujillo’s death was the second in a pair of Pierce County killings early Wednesday morning. Police responded to a call of gunshots at 3:04 a.m. in the 6900 block of D Street, The News Tribune previously reported.
Officers found Trujillo with multiple gunshot wounds, the Tacoma Police Department previously said in a news release. They tried to save his life, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
About half an hour prior, Pierce County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a homicide near Puyallup in the 12500 block of Woodland Avenue East by Summit.
Later that day, PCSO announced the homicides were connected and listed 24-year-old Hayes McCloud as the suspect. They said McCloud was on the run, armed and dangerous. At 8:51 p.m. on Wednesday, Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank posted on X that McCloud had been shot and killed during an encounter with police in Seaside, Oregon.
PCSO previously said investigators believed both murders were targeted, but McCloud’s motive is unclear at this time.
As of 3 p.m. on Friday, July 10, the identity of the homicide victim near Puyallup had not been released in the Medical Examiner’s portal. PCSO previously said that victim was a man.
The News Tribune reached out to the Seaside Police Department, Oregon State Police and the Clatsop County District Attorney’s Office for more information on the encounter between Hayes and police officers, but did not receive a response.
