Tacoma, WA man arrested after fistfight turns into fatal shooting

TACOMA, Wash. - Police arrested a man in Tacoma on Friday after an altercation that left his girlfriend's ex-husband dead.

Tacoma Police arrested Nicholas Patrick Kane on Friday after he called 911 to report that he had been in an altercation with his ex-roommate, who was also his girlfriend's ex-husband.

When officers arrived at the 3700 block of S Orchard St, they located a victim with gunshot wounds and immediately began life-saving measures. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition but died over the weekend.

The backstory:

According to court documents, Kane told officers that he had stayed in the area with his girlfriend at her apartment. He left the residence but later returned and saw his ex-roommate sitting in his vehicle in front of her apartment. The two agreed to fight and moved their vehicles to the north entrance of the apartment complex. 

Both engaged in a fistfight, but Kane said his ex-roommate pulled out brass knuckles, struck him and told him he should shoot him. Kane said he then ran to his vehicle to get his gun. He said his ex-roommate 'was armed and started to shoot at him or pointed his firearm at him when he ran towards his vehicle'.

The two exchanged gunfire. He told officers that his ex-roommate fired so many that he had to change magazines.

Kane said he got into his vehicle and reversed down the hill towards Orchard street while still exchanging gunfire.

He ran out of ammunition, so he drove north on Orchard Street, then made a U-turn to head back to his girlfriend's apartment. He told officers he reloaded his magazine with five additional rounds.

As he drove through the apartment complex, he saw his ex-roommate standing at the top of the hill, next to a playground area. Kane said that his ex-roommate fired at him four or five times. Kane told officers he returned fire, shooting an additional four to five rounds, hitting his ex-roommate. He then drove north out of the apartment complex.

Tacoma Police searched the scene near the playground and say they did not find any spent casings in the area that matched the ex-roommate's 9mm handgun. They located two live rounds lying on the victim's chest. A .45 caliber casing was found on the road in the area of the playground that matched Kane's gun.

There were multiple spent casings from two firearms on the ground where the initial gunfire had started.

Dig deeper:

Here is an excerpt from the detective's report as included in the charging documents:

"I witnessed surveillance video from the church in the area. The video captures Kane and S driving their respective vehicles down the hill towards where the initial shooting took place. S is following Kane’s silver sedan in his black vehicle. They park mostly out of the picture apart from being able to see Kane’s vehicle in the corner where the roads intersect. Kane is witnessed parking facing the fence like he told us in his interview. He is seen exiting the vehicle. He returns to the vehicle, presumably to grab his gun like he stated, and then is out of the picture. He returns to the vehicle and then leaves the area in what appears to be a reversed direction again like he stated had happened. S is seen walking up the hill towards R ’s apartment. He does not appear to be visibly injured at this time. A short time later, Kane’s silver sedan is seen driving down the hill in the opposite direction S was walking. Based on evidence at the scene and Kane's statements during his interrogation with Detectives, it is believed an altercation between Kane and S took place escalating from a physical confrontation to one where they both shot at one another. Kane initially left, then returned and reengaged with S, shooting him and seriously injuring him. It is not believed that S shot at Kane at the top of the hill near where S was located by neighbors and emergency services."

Kane was booked into jail for first-degree assault, drive-by shooting and unlawful possession of a firearm.

In court, prosecutors said they plan to amend the charge to murder now that the victim has died. Kane's attorney argued for him to be released on $15,000 bail with Electronic Home Monitoring. '"Just my reading of the probable cause statement seems to indicate that this was a […] I don't really know if this was a mutual combat type situation or self-defense, but there may be some issues legally with what he is being charged with," said Kane's defense attorney.

Pierce County Court Commissioner Barbara McInvaille ordered that Kane be held on $750,000 bail.

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