Tacoma shooting suspect arrested after nationwide manhunt

TACOMA, Wash. - A suspect is in custody for the shooting of a former professional boxer in Tacoma after over two months of being on the run across the country.

Back on February 17, 2024, a shooting took place at a Tacoma boxing event being held at the Oasis of Hope Center in the Hilltop neighborhood.

A 52-year-old man sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was rushed to a local trauma center. Police said the victim is a prominent former professional boxer from Tacoma and a current resident associated with the Tacoma Boxing Club.

Detectives say the shooting happened in the parking lot of the event after a verbal altercation involving members of different boxing clubs.

After identifying the suspect, Tacoma Police learned that he fled the state of Washington, prompting a nationwide extradition warrant.

Police say the 27-year-old suspect was tracked across the southwestern U.S., including in Arizona and New Mexico.

The suspect was eventually arrested on Friday, April 19 in Long Beach, Washington after returning to the state. He also had a loaded firearm on him, according to police.

Tacoma Police say they are withholding the suspect's name at this time due to their involvement in other ongoing violent crime investigations across the Puget Sound region.

The U.S. Marshal's Service (USMS) Pacific Northwest Violent Offender’s Task Force, USMS New Mexico Task Force, and the USMS Arizona Task Force assisted in this investigation.