South Sound News

Man killed in Graham was pepper-sprayed then shot, detectives say

GRAHAM, Wash. — Detectives with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said a man living in a shed in the backyard of a Graham home was shot and killed Thursday morning.

At 8:54 a.m., deputies were dispatched to the 24500 block of 62nd Avenue Court East, where a caller had reported her boyfriend had been shot in the backyard and the suspects had left in a vehicle.

Deputies arrived and found a 33-year-old man with a gunshot wound in a shed in the backyard. Firefighters tried to treat the victim, but he died at the scene.

Forensic investigators and detectives processed the property for evidence and spoke to witnesses.

Detectives learned the suspects knocked on the door, and when the victim answered, he was pepper-sprayed and then shot.

Anyone with information about the homicide is asked to call the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department or make an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers of Tacoma/Pierce County, the P3Tips App, or 1-800-222-TIPS(8477).