Friend hopes to finish the work started by a Puyallup man slain during shooting spree

PUYALLUP, Wash. -- When you look at this house up close, you see a memorial. Fresh flowers still being delivered to honor a beloved community leader who was slain during a gunman's rampage on Aug. 11.

But from the street, what many neighbors see is a much bigger picture.

"I used to really look for that house and I'm almost afraid to look at it now, because it was such a spot of tragedy," said Dan Smith, one of many neighbors who now dreads the drive down 14th Avenue SW in Puyallup.

"Things didn't get done, things got cut short. His work should be done, completed."

Just the sight of the unfinished home brings up many emotions. It's a reminder of a project started, by a man who will never get the chance to finish it.

"It's senseless and it's for nothing," Smith said. "I just felt like we should do what we can to repair that."

It's where a gunman killed the property owner -- Richard Johnson -- a husband, father and grandfather during a shooting spree on the street on Aug. 11. At least 14 homes were hit by gunfire that day, before police took the man into custody.

Pierce County prosecutors have filed charges of first-degree murder and 16 other counts against Nathen Terault, 35, of Tacoma, for allegedly killing Johnson and terrorizing dozens of people in Puyallup that day.

Terault entered not-guilty pleas and is being held on $5 million bail.

Smith, a family friend and former contractor, is heading up a new project to finish what Johnson started.

"They need a kitchen window around the side, some back doors that need to be done," he said.

Smith is calling on the community to lend a hand -- starting the weekend after Labor Day.

"It's taking something bad and making good out of it," said Jennifer Amato, "and also being a part of that sometimes can make everyone feel a little better about things."

While Smith has the moral support of the community, he's hoping they'll jump in financially, too. The goal is to raise $10,000 to finish up the outside and tackle some of the inside, too. Local retailers are already vowing to donate materials.

"It means healing, it means restoration," Smith said.

The property is just one of many rentals that Johnson owned throughout the community. If you would like to help out, click here for the Go Fund Me page.