Merging dispute on I-5 in Tacoma led to shooting that wounded young boy, charges say
A road-rage shooting in Tacoma that left an 11-year-old boy injured occurred after the accused gunman tried to stop another vehicle from merging onto Interstate 5, according to charging documents.
The boy, who was sitting in the backseat of the targeted car, was seriously injured after being hit in the right arm, abdomen and liver. Records state he underwent surgery at Mary Bridge Children’s hospital to have the bullet removed. Washington State Patrol troopers said Saturday the boy is expected to fully recover.
Jadan Maurice Davis-Gunn, 19, was charged Wednesday in Pierce County Superior Court with three-counts of first-degree assault and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Pleas of not guilty were entered on the defendant’s behalf at arraignment Wednesday afternoon. Commissioner Philip Thornton set bail at $750,000. According to court records, Davis-Gunn has prior felony convictions, including for third-degree assault in 2018 and for malicious mischief and malicious harassment in 2016.
Three people were in the Honda CRV that was shot at Friday afternoon, including the child’s older brother, according to the declaration for determination of probable cause. The vehicle had three bullet holes in its passenger side, and one shattered a window. No one else was hit.
The older brother told state troopers that he looked the shooter in the eyes just before he opened fire, and the man was the only person in the other car, a black Chevrolet Cruze. Troopers announced Saturday that the car was found outside a residence in Tacoma’s South End, near the 800 block of South 78th Street. Detectives obtained a search warrant, and Davis-Gunn was arrested.
Troopers said the car was located through witness information and with the assistance of the Tacoma Police Department. A SWAT team helped take the defendant into custody. Records state that the Chevrolet Cruze was registered in his name. A search of Davis-Gunn’s residence and vehicle did not locate a firearm or shell casings.
Charging documents gave this account:
Troopers responded Friday afternoon after being advised that the occupants of a Honda CRV were shot at by the driver of another vehicle while they tried to merge onto Interstate 5 from 56th Street, near the Tacoma Mall.
The driver of the Chevrolet Cruze, later identified as Davis-Gunn, was traveling in the right lane when the Honda tried to merge, and the defendant allegedly tried to stop it from doing so. Prosecutors wrote in the charging documents that it was reported this led to a “brief road rage.”
Once the Honda merged, the other driver moved to the left lane and reportedly pulled alongside the passenger side of the Honda. Records state that’s when Davis-Gunn allegedly rolled down his window and fired several gunshots from a handgun.
The child was shot, and the other occupants drove him to a Tacoma Fire Department station at East 38th Street and McKinley Avenue. The boy was treated there before he was transported to the hospital.
One witness report about the shooting mentioned an exchange of gunfire between the two vehicles, according to the probable cause document, but further investigation found that the witness only heard gunfire. When both vehicles were impounded, only the Honda had bullet holes in it.
