Man shot, killed along busy South Sound street

TACOMA, Wash. — Searching for answers after a man was shot and killed along a busy South Sound street.

Tacoma police were still at the scene some 18 hours after an encounter between two men turned violent.

"Tacoma police was called to the area of 7400 block of Pacific Ave around 8:42 (Friday) night regarding a possible shooting," said Officer Shelbie Boyd.

Boyd says when officers arrived, they found a male victim in his 50s dead.

"We called out the detectives and forensics and they started their investigation," she said.

The shooting happened along bustling Pacific Avenue.

Investigators say the 46-year-old suspect and the victim knew each other, shared an address at one point.  But they do not know why they ended up here in this yard across from Fred Meyer, nor why their encounter ended in gunfire.

"I saw about five or six police cars they were all lined up," said Robert Schooler.

Schooler was leaving work when he saw the crime scene and hadn't known it involved a shooting.

"No," he said, "hadn't heard anything about that until early this morning. It's surprising to me, actually."

"No," said Stephen Weinstone, who lives next door. "I was shocked to find out it was happening."

Officer Boyd says these shootings have a big impact.

"There's the family that you know that's affected," she said. "There's the community. And there's the police officers that show up on the scene and handle it."

Police say they didn't have to look far to find the suspect.  He never left the scene. So he was arrested where the shooting happened.

Now the Pierce County Medical Examiner is trying to find the victim's next of kin. He was from another country and was planning to return there soon.

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