Point Defiance Park will close early, increase security this week due to shootings
Jul 11, 2023, 7:14 AM
Tacoma's Point Defiance Park will close early due to recent gun violence. (Metro Parks Tacoma)
(Metro Parks Tacoma)
Tacoma’s popular Point Defiance Park will close early this week due to recent shootings.
The park will close at 8:30 p.m. instead of sunset, around 9 p.m.
A shooting that injured a 9-year-old girl is the second such incident in eight weeks. On May 23 a woman’s head was grazed by a bullet during an attempted robbery.
“We want to make sure to take the time to access the situation,” said Stacia Glenn, Metro Parks Tacoma’s spokesperson, told the Tacoma News Tribune.
Metro Parks Tacoma also decided to add extra cameras at the Pearl Street entrance of the park, Glenn said.
State report: Wash. had highest amount of murders in a single year in 2022
The 760-acre park includes Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, the Rose Garden, Rhododendron Garden, beaches, trails, a boardwalk, a boathouse, a Washington State Ferries ferry dock, an off-leash dog park, and a forest. It gets more than three million visitors every year.
The moves are just being made at Point Defiance Park. No special events will be impacted.
“If Metro Parks believes there is a concern and they want to adjust their hours based on that concern, we absolutely support that,” said Shelbie Boyd, Tacoma police department spokesperson.
