Police arrest man for fatal shooting at Tacoma homeless encampment

The (Tacoma, WA) News Tribune ^ | 12/4/20 | Stacia Glenn

[Uncle Miltie]

A 33-year-old man has been arrested for a fatal shooting near a homeless encampment in Tacoma.

Police were called to the encampment near Sixth Avenue and South M Street about 7:40 p.m. Thursday by several people who heard gunshots.

They found a 38-year-old man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

The victim was taken to a hospital, where he died. He has not been publicly identified.

As detectives were investigating the scene, the 33-year-old man approached them to advise he’d been involved in the incident.

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He was interviewed at the police station and early Friday was booked into Pierce County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder.

Pierce County prosecutors are expected to make a charging decision on the case Monday.

This is the second homicide at a Tacoma homeless encampment this year.

On Aug. 15, Terrance Wilkins was fatally shot in the 6600 block of South Alaska Street by three masked men who tried to rob a group of unhoused people.

A confrontation led to Wilkins being shot in the chest. He died at the scene.

Police have not made any arrests in the case.

In Thursday’s homicide, which is the 30th homicide in the city this year, witnesses reported seeing people use baseball bats to beat homeless people, according to local homeless advocacy groups. Two women were reportedly hospitalized with injuries.

“This was not an act of violence among people experiencing homelessness but rather an attack by housed people on the residents of a homeless encampment,” Kevin Glackin-Coley, director of special projects for the Tacoma-Pierce County Coalition to End Homelessness, said in a statement.

The police department has not released details about the incident and has not confirmed whether baseball bats were involved in the confrontation.

“This is an active, ongoing investigation and no further updates are available at this time,” police spokeswoman Wendy Haddow said Friday.

The incident at the encampment prompted government leaders and advocacy groups to speak out.

Megan Capes, co-chair of Tacoma Democratic Socialists of America, said the shooting was horrific and demonstrated a dire need for the city to take immediate action in finding shelter for unhoused community members.

“Everyone deserves safety and a place to call home without fear of violence,” she said.

Pierce County Councilman Marty Campbell tweeted about the attack Friday morning, saying, “My heart breaks for them. This is unacceptable. We need safe sheltering locations provided all across our county.”

Glackin-Coley, of the Coalition to End Homelessness, said ensuring there is housing for everyone in the community is a public safety issue that affects everyone.

“We understand the tensions that exist in neighborhoods where people experiencing homelessness establish encampments,” he said. “However ,these tensions cannot be used as a justification for acts of violence, but rather as a clarion call to individuals, organizations and local, county, and state officials to take the necessary steps to ensure that there are safe, warm, and dry housing options for all people.”

Tacoma Mutual Aid Collective planned to help encampment members hold a vigil for the victim at 7 p.m. Friday at the corner of Sixth Avenue and South M Street where he was killed.

[Uncle Miltie]

This is 5 blocks from my house, and directly on my wife's bike commute.

Here is the local leftist protest page for the racist communist angle:

https://mobile.twitter.com/TacomaUprising

[Uncle Miltie]

If every leftist whining soy boi in antifa took in a homeless drug addled schizo, I think the problem would be solved.

[ETL]

Where’s Hunter??

“During his week-long stay in Los Angeles [Fall, 2016], he says he asked a homeless man where he could buy crack. The man brought him to a homeless encampment, where someone put a gun to Biden’s head before realizing he wanted to buy drugs. Biden returned several times that week to buy crack.

He made his way to Arizona driving a rental car after not sleeping for days. An employee for the rental car company said he found a crack pipe and white powder residue in the car Biden returned. ...”

—Washington Examiner, July 2, 2019
Article: Cocaine-laced cigarettes, crack, and vodka binges: Hunter Biden details his drug and alcohol abuse
_____________________________________________________

[Jane Long]

Coming to a WH, near you, if Bidet gets in.

[dp0622]

Drug addled and schizophrenic are two separate things.

I think most FReepers are smart enough to know that.

I took an injury to the head over a dozen years ago and trust me in a MINUTE YOUR WHOLE LIFE CAN CHANGE.

I had a Great Friend who took care of me for half a decade until I recovered enough to live life again and take care of things on my own.

Or I would have been homeless.

Like too Many brain injured vets are. I am not a vet.

But the over 100,000 brain injured vets are a cause dear to my heart.

And i’m SURE their injuries are far worse than mine was.

TBI and PTSD can lead to drug use. But drug use isn’t needed to end up homeless.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t folks that are just dangerous dregs out there. They need to be dealt with harshly.

But let’s not throw all the homeless in together.

Cuz I hate to sound corny but..there but for the Grace of God...

As for your comment about soy boys, you nailed it.

they could be doing so much good.

But they are self centered, lost and brainwashed. And spoiled.
You know the rest.

[Noumenon]

Pierce County Councilman Marty Campbell tweeted about the attack Friday morning, saying, “My heart breaks for them. This is unacceptable. We need safe sheltering locations provided all across our county.”

How about your back yard, lady? But you know that's what they want to do to ordinary neighborhoods. Just not theirs.

KTF

[ConjunctionJunction]

We’ve got a whole homeless industrial complex in this state.

[Veto!]

Very scary for you and your wife.
Will keep you both in my prayers.

Homeless encampments make me want to cry. Not because the creeps are downtrodden but because of the waste of life.

[lee martell]

Quoting Hilary: “What difference at this point does it make?”.

[jonrick46]

In King and Pierce County, the homeless population has skyrocketed. Most of it is fueled by the opioid scourge which puts the addict on a road to overdose. For many, problem solved: a good addict is a dead addict.

I think the Dem leaders that dominate those counties have their pockets lined by the illegal drug industry. Somebody told me they thought the drugs were even being flown into McChord by military transport. The military is corrupted. Given the amount of drugs used, you would need many transport jets running in the drugs weekly.

I was told by my friend, the Tacoma police don’t care because their leadership is being paid off. The same goes for the Federal Way police and, of course, the Seattle police.

AS for the military, I wonder how high up in the military are those having their pockets lined? Nobody wants to investigate that . . .

[kearnyirish2]

That’s a shame; NJ is a mess, but northeastern winters keep “homeless encampments” to a minimum.

[Elsie]

...three masked men who tried to rob a group of unhoused people.

Did the three mumble, "Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk"?

Who else would expect to get anything of value from HOMELESS folks?

[Hot Tabasco]

tried to rob a group of unhoused people.

Rob them of what?....LOL!

[Elsie]

Pierce County Councilman Marty Campbell tweeted about the attack Friday morning, saying, “My heart breaks for them. This is unacceptable. We need safe sheltering locations provided all across our county.”

Honey; I just KNOW that you can provide safety for at least three of them. Take them home and put them up in your GUEST room!

Problem SOLVED (if ALL you Libs were compassionate)

[Texas resident]

Another question:

How come Covid hasn’t gone crazy in the homeless camps?

The media loves to show the homeless.

[jmacusa]

I live in Ocean County, NJ. It’s a very large county in NJ, the area I live in is just on outskirts of The New Jersey Pine Barrens. For the most part it’s a near trackless pine forest that covers a good quarter of the state.

All through out this area are a lot of homeless encampments.

There’s rarely ever any mention of crime associated with these places but I’m sure it’s being kept quiet.