Suspect arrested after 11-year-old injured in road rage shooting on I-5 near Tacoma Mall

TACOMA, Wash. — For the second time in the month of November, a child is victim from a shooting caused by road rage. It’s a problem both Washington State Patrol and the public feel is getting out of hand.

An 11-year-old boy was injured in a suspected road rage shooting on I-5 in Tacoma on Friday afternoon, according to WSP.

The shooting, which took place on northbound I-5 south of 38th Street near the Tacoma Mall, was reported at about 2:20 p.m.

A dark-colored Chevrolet Cruze was passing a black Honda CRV when the driver of the Chevrolet opened fire toward the Honda, hitting the child who was sitting in the rear passenger seat.

The victims then drove to the nearby Tacoma Fire Station 11 located at South 38th Street East and McKinley Avenue to seek help.

The child was transported to a hospital to be treated for serious injuries.

There were two others in the Honda who were uninjured.

Just after 9:30 p.m. Saturday, WSP announced that a 19-year-old suspect had been taken into custody in connection to the shooting. They were booked into the Pierce County Jail for investigation of first-degree assault and drive-by shooting.

“It’s very hard to comprehend why people would do that, but what I’ve definitely noticed is that people seem to have forgotten to just be courteous to one another,” said WSP Trooper Robert Reyer. “I don’t know if that has something to do with not being used to being around one another over the last two years, but it’s important for us to be patient and courteous with one another.”

On Nov. 11, a 9-year-old boy was shot while sitting in the back of a car near Renton.

The vehicle from that shooting which put 9-year-old Isaiah Johns in the hospital has been recovered by WSP.

The stolen Mustang was found in Tukwila, according to troopers. However, the shooter is still on the loose.

“It shows very clearly that those two incidents that we can hurt somebody very badly out of frustration,” Reyer said Friday. “But there is absolutely no reason for people to express their frustration in a manner that hurts somebody like this 11-year-old child today.”

Troopers say they do not yet have information on the identity of the suspect involved in this incident.

Details on what exactly sparked the shooting are limited at this time, according to WSP.

©2022 Cox Media Group