Police in Washington state arrested Shawn Kemp on Wednesday (March 9) at Tacoma Mall following a shooting incident. Officials booked Kemp into the Pierce County Jail on one drive-by-shooting charge at 5:58 pm local time, per county records.
Tacoma Police Department tweeted about the shooting but didn’t identify the former NBA star by name. However, they say the occupants of two cars got into an altercation at about 1:58 pm near the Tacoma Mall parking lot. The disagreement led to shots fired, but one car fled the scene.
Shawn, 53, was arrested without incident at the scene, per NBC affiliate KING-TV. Police also recovered a gun at the scene, but its owner remains unclear. The investigation is ongoing.
Video footage captured a man in a red vest seemingly arguing with another person. The man in the vest is standing in the parking lot, in between cars, and motions his arm toward the other person before what sounds like one shot rings out.
Though the red vest shooter is outside of a vehicle, the shooting might still qualify as a drive-by if the shooter was near the car they or the gun were transported in.
The law reads:
“A person is guilty of drive-by shooting when he or she recklessly discharges a firearm as defined in RCW 9.41.010 in a manner which creates a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to another person and the discharge is either from a motor vehicle or from the immediate area of a motor vehicle that was used to transport the shooter or the firearm or both to the scene of the discharge.”
According to a photo obtained by TMZ, Kemp was wearing a similar red vest while touring a cannabis grow house before the incident on Wednesday.
Fox13 Seattle reported that sources close to Kemp say he fired in self-defense. The sources claim Kemp’s property, including an iPhone, was stolen from his car on Tuesday. Kemp allegedly tracked the item to Tacoma on Wednesday but said a suspect reportedly fired at him when he approached the vehicle he believed his stolen property was in.
At this time, police have not reported any injuries from the shooting. However, if convicted on the class B felony charge, Shawn could face up to 10 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine.
