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A fight over a woman led to a fatal shooting near an Ashford bar Sunday night, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.
The alleged shooter, 38, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder early Monday at his home in Eatonville after he called police to turn himself in.
The Sheriff’s Department has not yet identified the alleged shooter.
Patti Andres, owner of the Highlander Tavern for the past 25 years, told The Chronicle she saw part of the altercation that led up to the shooting.
“I know the kid (suspect) was running for his life because (the victim) was trying to run him down in his truck,” she said.
Andres said the shooting did not actually happen on her property.
The identity of the victim, a 50-year-old man, has not yet been released by the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Andres told The Chronicle nothing like this has happened at her bar before and said she was not familiar with the men involved in the altercation.
“I don’t really know these people,” she said.
According to the Sheriff’s Department spokesman Ed Troyer, the two men were at a bar in the 30300 block of state Route 706 before the shooting.
The victim reportedly used to date a woman who works at the bar, and had earlier that day accused him of stalking her.
The alleged shooter confronted the victim in the parking lot after the bar closed and “the two guys ended up fighting over the girl,” Troyer said.
The younger man then allegedly shot the older man several times with a semi-automatic handgun.
Investigators have recovered a gun they believe was used in the incident.
The victim was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, where he died at 2 a.m. Monday. The investigation is ongoing. Troyer said the suspect will be charged in Pierce County Superior Court Tuesday.
Andres told The Chronicle Monday law-enforcement officers have been at the bar “all night and again this morning.”
