‘He did not deserve this’: Family and friends hold vigil for teen killed in Tacoma parking garage
Oct 26, 2026, 9:36 AM
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
Family and friends gathered at a Tacoma parking garage Sunday — one week after Tacoma police said masked gunmen opened fire and killed a 16-year-old boy.
Loved ones brought flowers, balloons, and candles as they remembered Josiah Midgyett.
“He was a good kid and touched a lot of hearts and definitely touched all of our hearts,” Midgyett’s mother, Ebony Tucker, said exclusively to KIRO 7.
Tucker said Midgyett was into football and basketball, played the saxophone, and was adored by his family.
“He was a really good dude. That was my best man. He really helped me out through thick and thin, and I really appreciate that,” Midgyett’s brother, Ajani Tucker, said.
“He’d always bring me up anytime I was feeling down,” Midgyett’s cousin, Kardee-A Rankins, added.
Josiah’s little sister, Ajania Tucker, agreed with both Ajani Tucker and Rankins.
“Yes, he was a kind and loving soul. We all loved him dearly,” Ajania Tucker said. “We all wish that he was right here to hug us all. But he can’t.”
Tacoma police said that, on Sunday, Oct. 18, as many as five masked gunmen opened fire on a group of people who gathered on one of the upper floors of a Commerce Street parking garage.
Midgyett was killed during that shooting.
KIRO 7 was in court when three adults were arraigned on first-degree murder charges in Josiah’s death: 18-year-old Jose Campos, his brother, 20-year-old Davion Campos, and 19-year-old Alina Guillen. A juvenile suspect was also arrested.
Prosecutors said the shooting was retaliation after Jose Campos was shot in the hand the night before.
“My son was a very good kid,” Ebony Tucker said. “What happened to him, last week on Sunday, was not supposed to happen. It’s a tragedy. Wrong place, wrong time, whatever the case may be. My son was not into gangs, and he did not deserve this.”
Ebony Tucker said she wants justice for her son and for the people who killed him to be held accountable.
