A man fatally shot by a homeowner after opening fire on an Eatonville-area home has been identified as an 18-year-old Puyallup man.
An 18-year-old man killed by an Eatonville-area homeowner who returned fire after the man shot up his mobile home has been identified as Bryson Smith.
Pierce County sheriff’s investigators said Smith and two friends went to shoot up a home in the 43100 block of Mountain Highway East about 7:15 a.m. Wednesday in retaliation for an incident involving the homeowner’s son.
After being warned by his son about Smith’s alleged threat to “shoot up the house,” the homeowner armed himself and went to the front door of his home.
That’s when shots were fired from a white car into a bedroom of the trailer, sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.
The homeowner returned fire, striking Smith. He then called 911.
Smith, of Puyallup, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Two other people in the car, a 31-year-old man and 17-year-old boy, fled and were arrested nearby 20 minutes later.
The man was booked into Pierce County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder. The boy was booked into Remann Hall Juvenile Detention Center.
Prosecutors are expected to decide Thursday whether to file criminal charges.
“The people that came up here we believe came up here with the intent to fire upon the people that were in the residence,” Troyer said. “Fortunately, the people in the residence aren’t hurt, but the people that showed up suffered the brunt of the damage.”
Detectives are still trying to determine what the original incident involving Smith and the homeowner’s son was about.
