29-year-old accused of stabbing 3 roommates in Tacoma, setting house on fire

A 29-year-old man has been charged with allegedly stabbing three of his roommates and setting the house on fire in Tacoma.

On Jan. 20, Tacoma Police Department (TPD) and Tacoma Fire Department (TFD) responded to a home in the 4000 block of S. 34th Street at 4:43 a.m., TFD announced.

Multiple 911 reports indicated that a building was on fire and either a caller or a roommate had been stabbed.

As crews arrived, they could see visible flames in the living room. Some inhabitants were running out of the home, with one person “actively on fire” as they ran outside, according to court documents obtained by KIRO 7.

“It was pretty chaotic once officers got on scene, we had people self-evacuating from upper levels of the house,” said TPD Officer Shelbie Boyd.

Officers also viewed people evacuating in any way they could, including jumping out of windows.

Man allegedly stabs roommates, lights Tacoma house on fire

The victims who were stabbed and escaped from the fire explained to officers that their roommate, Andrew Keen, began stabbing others at approximately 4 a.m.

Keen’s mental health was declining in the three days that he had been inside the clean and sober home, according to court documents.

Before the stabbings, Keen allegedly accused one of the roommates of stealing “something intangible” of his, and the roommates attempted to calm him down. They then learned that Keen was upset that his roommate had stolen his “thoughts and emotions” from him.

After the initial argument subsided, a roommate was woken up by the sounds of someone screaming that they had been stabbed and the house was on fire.

All three stabbing victims were transported to the hospital, with TFD reporting that two were taken in serious condition, and the other was taken to Harborview Medical Center in life-threatening condition.

TFD determined that the multiple small fires inside the home were intentionally set. The fire was fully extinguished in roughly 10 minutes.

“We essentially went in to tackle a fire that was essentially some contents that might have been set on fire that might have spread into a room,” Tacoma Fire Public Information Officer Chelsea Shepherd said. “There’s not a whole lot of actual fire damage. It’s fairly contained, but there is significant smoke damage in the house right now from the fire.”

Suspect’s father receives concerning text before stabbings

Keen’s father, who lives in a different state, received a message from his son before the stabbings that he was “going to jail tonight because he was going to kill some people,” according to court documents obtained by KIRO 7.

The first report to 911 came from Keen’s father, though he didn’t know where his son was, only that he was supposed to be in a clean and sober home in Tacoma or Parkland.

After a brief search for Keen’s whereabouts, he was arrested by officers.

“We put out information about the suspect, and officers were able to locate them around 20 blocks from the location,” Boyd said. “Initially, the adult male fled on foot, but gave up shortly thereafter.”

Keen was charged with four counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson.

Although only three victims were stabbed, Keen allegedly ran toward another person with a knife and threatened them, which landed the fourth attempted murder charge, according to court documents.

Keen is currently being held at the Pierce County Jail on $1 million bail.

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