Second person arrested in connection with Pierce County house party shooting appears in court
Apr 21, 2025, 4:52 PM | Updated: 4:53 pm
Screenshot of bodycam footage from Pierce County deputies arresting a second suspect involved in the house party-turned-mass shooting last month. (Photo courtesy of the Pierce County Sheriff's Office)
(Photo courtesy of the Pierce County Sheriff's Office)
A high school senior charged in connection with a deadly shooting at a Spanaway-area house party last month appeared before a judge Monday.
Prosecutors say it was fortunate that 18-year-old Christopher Lee Cobb of Federal Way did not kill anyone.
They say he fired a gun outside the party, where two teenagers were killed and four others were wounded.
Cobb pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault, according to The News Tribune.
A 17-year-old boy has been charged as an adult with two counts of first-degree murder.
Pierce County deputies, with support from SWAT, took Cobb into custody last week in the city of Des Moines.
The arrest was the culmination of an extensive undercover operation that had been underway since the shooting occurred on March 29.
“This suspect had not been identified until we were able to gather more evidence and review surveillance cameras and gather enough information that we had a suspect that was outstanding,” Pierce County Deputy Carly Cappetto said.
Pierce County deputies arrest a second suspect allegedly involved in that tragic mass shooting at a house party in unincorporated Pierce County last month. pic.twitter.com/FPiV9Sko6C
— James L. (@James_KIRORadio) April 18, 2025
Once investigators identified the suspect, they surveilled his Des Moines home and the surrounding area.
“(Deputies) talked to victims and witnesses and cased surveillance cameras and established probable cause that there was a second suspect,” Cappetto said.
How the house party shooting started
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Neighbors began calling local authorities about the house party and how loud it grew at 10:45 p.m. However, before Pierce County deputies could arrive in time, more calls came in reporting shots fired at the party. According to KIRO Newsradio, deputies were initially diverted to a different call and weren’t able to respond to the scene until shortly after midnight.
When deputies arrived, they found someone dead in the street in front of the home that was hosting the party.
According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, multiple people were armed at the party, and those who were shot by the suspect fired shots back before collapsing.
The party was hosted by a 17-year-old girl, whose mother was reportedly home at the time of the party. According to responding deputies, she said she didn’t see the shooting.
Six people were shot outside the house party in total. Two people died—Hector Gonzalez Valdez, 19, and Joaquin Ramirez, 15.
The Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office previously filed charges against the first suspect, a 17-year-old, with two counts of murder in the first degree and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree. His bail was set at $2 million.
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