Tacoma detective recovering after shooting that sparked manhunt, arrest of teens

Police say a detective with the Tacoma Police Department was shot by two teenagers on Wednesday.

According to TPD, the detective was shot in the shoulder in the 9600 block of South Hosmer, just south of Irving Park.

Officers said around 2:25 p.m., they saw a car driving erratically in the area of South 96th and Alaska Street and watched it until it came to a stop. Officers then approached the people in the car and they fled and fired at officers. A detective who has been at the Tacoma Police Department for 27 years was hit by the gunfire.

The detective was alert, talking, and stable when he was transported to St. Joseph Medical Center, TPD confirmed to KIRO 7.

A massive manhunt shut down the area for hours.

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Manhunt for suspects after detective shot in Tacoma Streets were shut down in Tacoma while police searched for the suspects who shot a Tacoma Police Department detective in the shoulder on Aug. 23, 2023. (KIRO 7 News)

“(An officer was) like, ‘I have it blocked off, you can’t go anywhere near here. We’re just trying to secure the area and make sure nobody gets through,’” said Jaymez Riggins, who lives in the area.

Just after 5 p.m., Tacoma police said they had two teenage boys in custody.

People who live in nearby apartments said that at one point, they heard officers near a wooded area barking commands at the suspects.

Police said the suspects, two 15-year-olds, were found with the help of a K-9 in the 1700 block of South 95th Street. They were booked into Remann Hall for attempted murder.

The investigation is ongoing.

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A police detective was shot in Tacoma on Wednesday.

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