MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Search called off for armed man in Tacoma’s south end

Jan 29, 2016, 6:19 AM | Updated: 1:22 pm

Tacoma police are searching for the 32-year-old man in an area south of I-5 between Reed Elementary...

Tacoma police are searching for the 32-year-old man in an area south of I-5 between Reed Elementary School and Lincoln High school. (KIRO 7)

(KIRO 7)

Tacoma police called off the search for an armed man after a fatal officer-involved shooting in Tacoma’s south end.

Just before midnight Thursday, patrol officers saw a wanted man in the passenger seat of a vehicle in the 3300 block of South Sawyer Street.

The officers approached the vehicle on foot after identifying him as someone with two felony warrants. When the man saw the officers, the driver of the vehicle accelerated toward them in an attempt to hit the officers, according to investigators.

One of the officers opened fire on the vehicle, hitting the driver. The passenger, who was armed with a rifle, ran from the scene. The driver, a woman in her 20s, died at the scene.

Police searched for the 32-year-old man in an area south of I-5 between Reed Elementary School and Lincoln High school, and asked people in the area to stay in their homes.

The man is Kenneth E. Wright Jr. Police describe him as a black male, 6 feet 1 inch, and 195 pounds. Authorities say he has warrants for first-degree robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm.

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Search called off for armed man in Tacoma’s south end