‘He wouldn’t hurt anybody’: 2 teens accused of shooting Tacoma detective charged
Aug 29, 2023, 6:49 AM | Updated: 6:50 am
Two 15-year-olds remain in custody after police say one of them shot a Tacoma detective late last week. Those two teens appeared in front of a judge Monday afternoon, each facing a slew of charges from unlawful possession of a firearm to attempted murder in the second degree. Here is a full list of their charges:
Teen 1: Second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, taking a motor vehicle without permission, obstructing a law enforcement officer, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Teen 2: Unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle and constructiong a law enforcement officer.
During the teens’ court appearance, parents implored the court to release them and back into their custody, but prosecutors argued given the actions of the teen who supposedly pulled the trigger, they would consider him a danger to the public. Once the hearing ended, one parent spoke out against the court’s handling of the situation.
“My son doesn’t get in trouble and I would appreciate it if he could go home,” one parent said during the hearing.
“We all know he is not a threat to nobody. Never! He wouldn’t hurt anybody,” one parent said after hearing.
According to the charging documents, on August 23, during an emphasis patrol locating stolen vehicles, a Tacoma detective in an unmarked car spotted the two teens getting inside a Hyundai with no plates on it. The detective assumed the vehicle was stolen, so he followed the vehicle and called for backup in the process. The documents state officers then located the teens outside the Aero Apartments in south Tacoma, but as the detective got closer to the teens, one of them allegedly pulled out a revolver and pointed it towards him.
The detective reportedly begged the teen “Don’t shoot me”… but shots were fired anyway, hitting him in the shoulder. The two teens were found hiding under someone’s deck not long after the detective was shot.
Even after hearing all of the charges the teens are accused of, their parents still stood by their side.
“I want everyone to keep in mind that this is a child we are dealing with despite whatever mistakes he’s being accused of,” one parent said in court.
The officer hurt in this shooting has been discharged from the hospital according to Tacoma Police.
