JBLM soldier fatally stabbed in off-base altercation

LAKEWOOD -- An active duty soldier based at Joint Base Lewis McChord was fatally stabbed early Saturday morning during an altercation with five men in Lakewood.

The soldier was walking with two other soldiers along Pacific Highway SW around 2:40 a.m. when a car with five men drove by, Lakewood police said.

As the car passed the soldiers, someone inside the car reportedly yelled something at them about being "white." The car then turned around and stopped next to the soldiers, and the occupants got out of the car. All of the car's occupants were black, police said.

A verbal confrontation between the two groups then allegedly unfolded, but the driver of the car called his friends off after realizing that the soldiers were combat veterans.

As the men got back into the car, one of the men appeared to have bumped into one of the soldiers. The soldier fell to the ground as the suspects drove away. The soldiers on the road then attended to their friend on the ground and discovered he was bleeding profusely, police said. The soldier was later pronounced dead at the scene.

Lakewood police are looking for a midnight blue BMW or VW Jetta with four doors, tinted windows and stock rims with low-profile tires. The suspects are described as black males, in their mid-20s.

The main suspect is described as being in his early 20s and is about 6-feet, 1-inch tall with a medium build and wearing a blue zip-up hoodie. 

The second suspect is the driver and his is described as 5-feet, 7-inches tall with short, cropped hair, who was wearing a blue-and-white, horizontal-striped shirt.

The third suspect is described as being 5-feet, 7-inches tall with short hair and wearing a gray tank top.The fourth suspect is described as being 5-feet, 6- or 7-inches tall and wearing camouflage pants. The pants were described as not being "true camouflage," but as having a "paintball splat-type" of design. 

The fifth suspect is described as being 5-feet, 6-inches tall.

Anyone has any information on the suspects or the vehicle they were in is asked to contact the Lakewood Police Department.