TACOMA, Wash. — A 14-year-old boy died from his injuries after he was shot in Tacoma Thursday afternoon, according to the Tacoma Police Department.
South Sound 911 received calls around 3 p.m. that shots were fired in the 4000 block of Portland Avenue East and that a juvenile male victim was struck.
Police arrived at the scene and administered first aid until the Tacoma Fire Department arrived to transport him to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries.
His death is being investigated as a homicide.
Detectives and crime scene technicians also responded to the scene of the crime.
Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodard released a statement following the boy's death expressing condolences to his family and loved ones.
"Although any loss of life is unacceptable, it is even more painful when we see a young life cut short," Woodard wrote.
Woodard said the City of Tacoma is committed to working with local and national partners to address the "alarming upward trend of violence that we have seen in recent years."
This is the first homicide in the city in 2023.
There has been a steady increase in homicides in Tacoma over the past several years. Police reported 42 homicides in 2022.
Tacoma police investigated a total of 34 homicides in 2021, 31 homicides in 2020 and 23 homicides in 2019. There were 18 homicides in Tacoma in 2018 and 12 in 2017, according to a spokesperson for the Tacoma Police Department.
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