Drive-by shooting outside Lakewood strip mall leaves man with 3 gunshot wounds

A man was critically injured in a drive-by shooting at a Lakewood strip mall early Friday morning in what police believe was a random incident.

At roughly 1:40 a.m., the Lakewood Police Department (LPD) received reports of shots fired in the parking lot of a strip mall in the 8700 block of S Tacoma Way, LPD confirmed.

As officers arrived on scene, they located a male victim down on the ground, suffering from what appeared to be three gunshot wounds.

Lakewood Police say victim did not appear to be the intended target

LPD’s preliminary investigation indicated that a Chevrolet Tahoe-style vehicle drove into the parking lot, and the passenger fired multiple rounds at “no one in particular.”

“The victim does not appear to have been an intended target,” LPD stated.

Once the shots were fired, the vehicle fled the scene before officers could arrive. It remains unclear which direction the suspect vehicle was traveling after the shooting.

LPD noted that no license information was gathered, only the general vehicle description. Officers searched the area surrounding the strip mall but failed to locate the vehicle.

“Officers did not receive any good suspect information at the time, outside of what possibly appears to have been a black or pacific islander male,” LPD stated.

The victim was ultimately transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital in critical condition, where he is currently receiving treatment and being stabilized.

LPD detectives have processed the crime scene for evidence and conducted initial interviews with witnesses who were in the area at the time of the shooting.

Detectives will continue working toward developing leads to identify the suspects involved in the shooting.

If anyone has information that can assist LPD in the investigation, they are urged to contact the department at (253) 830-5000.

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