Police confirmed Sunday morning that two males were slain in separate midnight shootings in Tacoma.
According to The News Tribune, both occurrences are being investigated as homicides, adding to a growing tally that puts the city and Pierce County on track to have the highest number of homicides in recent history.
The initial 911 calls about the gunshot came in at 11:17 p.m. Shots were fired in the neighborhood of East 35th and East D Streets, prompting police to respond. Officers discovered shell casings but no victims on the road. Shortly after the first report of shots fired, dispatchers learned that a guy with gunshot wounds had been dropped off at Tacoma General Hospital by a private vehicle.
The 24-year-old man died as a result of his injuries.
At 2:49 a.m., a second shooting was reported. Officers arrived to find a man prone on a sidewalk in the 5400 block of South Tacoma Way. He’d been wounded. Officers attempted to save the man’s life, but he was pronounced dead on the spot.
The two homicides bring Pierce County’s annual homicide total to 41, with 21 of the events occurring in Tacoma. If the current trend continues, the city will surpass its 1994 high of 33.
