Pierce Co. Sheriff concerned with number of killings this year
Pierce County deputies worried about homicide numbers
Pierce County is seeing an alarming number of murders this year, with many of the cases involving kids.
MIDLAND, Wash. - Pierce County Sheriff's Deputies responded to the county's 12th homicide so far this year, and investigators worry those numbers will only get worse during the summer months.
Violence involving a teen and his mom's 23-year-old boyfriend
What we know:
Investigators tell FOX 13 Seattle they responded to a 911 call for a stabbing at the Coventry Court Apartments off 76th Street Court East in Midland around 1:45 a.m.
Deputies said a 16-year-old stabbed his mother's boyfriend to death.
Teen in custody for stabbing mother's boyfriend, Pierce County deputies say
Detectives with the Pierce County Sheriff's Office are investigating a homicide at an apartment complex early Wednesday morning.
The victim is a 23-year-old man. Investigators said the mom and boyfriend were having some sort of argument before the deadly stabbing.
Deputy Carly Cappetto with the Pierce County Sheriff's Office tells FOX 13 Seattle the 16-year-old was booked into the Remann Hall Juvenile Detention Center for second-degree murder.
Deputies are concerned by the violence
Wednesday morning's stabbing marks Pierce County's 12th homicide for the first quarter of 2025.
Investigators say in 2024, there were 19 total murders.
"We are only seven deaths away from meeting last year's numbers, and we're not even into the summer and the summer is when we get a lot more," said Cappetto.
What is even more troubling is that several of these deadly incidents involve children.
"Three have been juvenile deaths this year, and, you know, multiple of these homicides have been juvenile-related," said Cappetto.
Recent history of violence
The backstory:
In late March, investigators responded to a nightmare situation, an out-of-control house party that resulted in the shooting deaths of two teens.
The suspected shooter was also a teen.
Second suspect arrested in Spanaway, WA house party mass shooting
The 18-year-old suspect was arrested in Des Moines Thursday night.
Surveillance footage captured the mayhem within this gated community as several teens started shooting on a residential street.
"The Pierce County Sheriff's Office we're seeing a rise in our homicides this year, just a rise in general in some of these horrible, horrible crimes," said Cappetto. "These numbers are very concerning," she added.
The Source: Information in this story comes from the Pierce County Sheriff's Office and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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