This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com
Pierce County deputies, with support from SWAT, took an 18-year-old man into custody just after 10 p.m. last night in the city of Des Moines for his alleged involvement in a mass shooting that broke out during a house party last month. He is the second person arrested for the shooting.
The arrest was the culmination of an extensive undercover operation that had been underway since the shooting occurred on March 29.
“This suspect had not been identified until we were able to gather more evidence and review surveillance cameras and gather enough information that we had a suspect that was outstanding,” Pierce County Deputy Carly Cappetto said.
Once investigators identified the suspect, they surveilled his Des Moines home and the surrounding area.
“(Deputies) talked to victims and witnesses and cased surveillance cameras and established probable cause that there was a second suspect,” Cappetto said.
How the house party shooting started
Neighbors began calling local authorities about the house party and how loud it grew at 10:45 p.m. However, before Pierce County deputies could arrive in time, more calls came in reporting shots fired at the party. According to KIRO Newsradio, deputies were initially diverted to a different call, and weren’t able to respond to the scene until shortly after midnight.
When deputies arrived, they found someone dead in the street in front of the home that was hosting the party.
According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, multiple people were armed at the party, and those who were shot by the suspect fired shots back before collapsing.
The party was hosted by a 17-year-old girl, whose mother was reportedly home at the time of the party. According to responding deputies, she said she didn’t see the shooting.
Six people were shot outside the house party in total. Two people died—Hector Gonzalez Valdez, 19, and Joaquin Ramirez, 15.
The Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office previously filed charges against the first suspect, a 17-year-old, with two counts of murder in the first degree and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree. His bail was set at $2 million.
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