TACOMA, Wash. — One man was fatally shot in Tacoma on Oct. 3 and the Tacoma Police Department is investigating the incident as a homicide.
Just after 1 p.m. on Tuesday, dispatch received a call about a possible shooting in the 3500 block of South Ainsworth Avenue, according to the police department. Officers found a man with gunshot wounds at the scene.
Tacoma Fire Department crews arrived to attempt life-saving efforts alongside officers, however, 60-year-old Charlie Park died at the scene.
Park was one of the owners of The Little Store, a convenience store that sits at the corner of South 35th Street and South Ainsworth Avenue.
"He's not coming back," said Maryann Coon. "I would give anything to get Charlie back."
The family-run store is in the heart of the neighborhood and a place people who live nearby go to every day.
“He didn’t deserve this, his family didn’t deserve this,” said Kendra Bukovac, who moved to the area a year ago. “A really good guy, not a man of a lot of words, but when he did speak he was very kind and respectful and always said goodbye and gave me a smile at the end,” Bukovac said.
The community said they are devastated, already rallying around the owner’s family as police work to piece together what happened and who pulled the trigger.
“They’re cared about more than they know, even from people who are new,” Bukovac said.
The Little Store has served the Tacoma neighborhood for the past 16 years. Park and his family ran the store after immigrating to the United States from South Korea.
"I miss him," said Todd McCarther, who lives near the store. "It hasn't even been a full day and I miss him. The smile, the greetings, it's really heartbreaking."
McCarther said he called 911 after he heard Park's family screaming for help.
"Come here, come here, come here," McCarther said. "I called 911. I get to the door and Charlie's laying in the middle of it. In the middle of the doorway with a gunshot wound."
McCarther said he did everything he could to save Park.
"We flipped him over started doing CPR and the police were here in five minutes," McCarther said.
Police confirmed there was a robbery at the store before the shooting happened.
"Now he's not going to be around and that can't happen no more," Coon said. "I'm so sad. I loved Charlie man."
The family said the store will remain closed for the time being. Police don't have a description of the suspect or suspects but anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222 TIPS.
According to the Tacoma Police Department, there were 42 homicides in 2022. There have been 22 homicides in Tacoma this year.
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