TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Gunshots rang out across several streets during a shooting that killed four people in a neighborhood in Tacoma, Washington, authorities said.
A search for a suspect or suspects continued Friday and investigators have not yet said what led to the Thursday afternoon violence at a housing complex on the city’s Eastside in the Salishan neighborhood.
Two women and two men were killed. The women were 42 and 22 years old and the men were 22 and 19, police said on Twitter Friday. Their names have not been released.
Police also on Twitter asked that anyone with information about the shootings to contact the national Crime Stoppers hotline.
“The shooting started in the alleyway,” Tacoma Police spokesperson Wendy Haddow said. “It transitioned to the front yard of a residence but it did all occur outside.”
Haddow said at least one victim was found in the street in front of the residence after the shooting around 4:30 p.m.
The News Tribune reports a neighbor who heard the gunshots said she saw a man run away and get in a waiting black car, which drove off.
“It was multiple shots,” Justin Jones told KOMO. “I don’t know how many shots exactly. As soon as we heard them I was just down to the ground, making sure I got all my family down.”
Crime scene technicians and detectives had blocked off several blocks to investigate.
Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodard and City Council member Catherine Ushka on Friday extended sympathy to the neighborhood and those affected.
“We know our police will diligently collect the facts of this case,” they said in a statement. “As we learn more, we as a community will find our way through this together.”
There have been 27 homicides in Tacoma this year, Haddow said. Last year’s 32 recorded homicides was the most since 1994, when there were 33. The city has a population of about 220,000.
