A woman is recovering from injuries after being shot while asleep in a South Tacoma home early Tuesday morning in an attack her family believes may have been a case of mistaken identity.
Surveillance footage shows three people shooting at a house in the 8800 block of South D Street around 4 a.m. Tuesday. Homeowner Stephen Taylor estimates about 60 shots were fired at his residence. “It sounded like fireworks going off. There was so much commotion,” Taylor said.
His daughter Emma was temporarily hospitalized after she was grazed five times and a bullet went through her foot. Bullets pierced her air mattress, and the family found shell casings next to destroyed sentimental items including family photos. Taylor said he has no idea who would target his house or why. “We’re honestly, seriously thinking it could be a case of mistaken identity,” he said.
Taylor said at the last check with law enforcement, there were no suspect leads. The attack comes the same week Tacoma swore in its new police Chief Patti Jackson, who reports she is determined to reduce violent crime. “I’m really glad to see she was made our police chief. I want to give her all my support,” Taylor said. “We’re having a problem with guns in our society. We just need to control them better.”
Jackson said the department has made significant progress under previous leadership. “It’s important to know what happened under previous leadership was a very important path forward. We’ve made significant progress in clearing out some of those areas that had trespass, because individuals were committing crime in areas,” Jackson said. Part of her plan is to boost the number of officers to help disrupt crime with an emphasis on arresting repeat offenders.
“If they go through the system and they get out and they re-engage in criminal activity, we’re going to arrest them again. The message is strong: we want a safe Tacoma,” Jackson said. Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact the Tacoma Police Department.
