Two teens arrested for shooting a 14-year-old girl as community grieves

Two 17-year-old boys have been arrested for the death of a 14-year-old girl in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood Wednesday, July 6.

The Tacoma Police Department said the attack happened at S. 19th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way in the city’s Hilltop neighborhood around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday as several young people were in a car in that area.

The girl, Iyana Ussery, was hit by a bullet fired into the car.

Ussery was driven to a home in the 1900 block of S. Ainsworth Avenue with the rest of the victims, which is where they realized she had been shot. Medical help was called, but police said the girl was pronounced dead at the scene.

14-year-old girl dead after shooting in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood

Court records say it started when Ussery and five friends went to a Speed-E-Mart on South 19th St. Documents say they were leaving when the two suspects started shooting at them, one witness said it was because the suspects and at least one person in the vehicle were involved with two different gangs.

The first suspect was arrested around 4 p.m. on Thursday in connection to the shooting.

The second voluntarily turned himself in after appearing at Remann Hall Juvenile Detention Facility alongside an attorney at 6:46 p.m.

Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards spoke in a press release after the shooting about the rise in gun violence in Tacoma over recent months. There have been 24 other gun-related homicides in Tacoma this year so far.

“Over the last couple of weeks, we have seen a spike in shootings and fatalities and, this morning, a 14-year-old girl was tragically shot and killed. In the face of these ongoing tragedies, I am beyond devastated. I am furious,” Woodard said.

The Tacoma City Council Study Session at noon July 12 is set to hear about the Violent Crime Reduction Plan presented by the Tacoma Police Department.

About 300 people attended a peace march and vigil for her on Thursday night.