TACOMA, Wash. — Tacoma Police arrested a 13-year-old, a 14-year-old, and a 19-year-old man in the early morning hours on Thursday. The trio is accused of going on a crime spree in Pierce County: stealing a car; robbing two businesses; leading police on a chase that ended on the interstate.
“I turn on the news like everyone else in the morning and I was extremely bothered, but also perplexed,” Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards said. "We are trying so hard in this community to be able to provide opportunities and alternatives for our young people."
Several high-profile crimes in Tacoma, including teens being shot and killed, prompted the city to allocate $300,000 toward summer youth programs. That’s the funding mechanism behind Summer Teen Late Nights. Mayor Woodards urges parents to sign their kids up for programs like this. The non-profit Greentrike oversees the program.
Summer Teen Late Nights program in Tacoma
"They can come be with their friends, partake in a different activity. There are other paths to take,” Rolfe Bautista with the non-profit said. “Hopefully, they come to our programs and they engage with their friends in this meaningful way and leads them to positive outcomes in the future.”
Authorities have yet to share extensive details regarding the morning's events, leaving many questions unanswered. However, one detail we do know alarms the mayor: the young ages of the suspects armed with guns.
"Those 13, 14-year-olds had a gun. We know that in Tacoma every 37 hours, a gun is stolen out of a car. Where did that young person get that gun?" Woodards questioned.
Woodards admits programs the city funds do have their limitations. Some issues, she says, are part of bigger problems in society.
"Parents who work two or three jobs who can't be home with their kids, it's not because they choose to work two or three jobs. It's because they have to, that's a poverty issue," she said. "It is not just the parents' job. Obviously, it's their children, but our community has a responsibility to our young people," she said