In the late afternoon of September 21, 2025, the life of Dustin Carter, a 49-year-old White / Caucasian male from Gig Harbor, Washington, was tragically cut short in a South Tacoma alley. The events unfolded just after 3 p.m. when 911 dispatchers received calls reporting the sound of gunfire in the area between South Warner Street and South Puget Sound Avenue. When Tacoma police officers arrived at the scene, they found Carter lying near a red van with a gunshot wound to his chest. Beside him, another man was critically injured, also suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. First responders administered aid, but Carter was pronounced dead at the scene. The Pierce County Medical Examiner later confirmed his cause of death as a gunshot wound to the chest and officially ruled it a homicide.
The investigation into the shooting moved swiftly. Before midnight on the same day as the incident, a 28-year-old man named Donovan Bailey O'Neal was arrested in connection with the fatal shooting. O'Neal had approached police on Portland Avenue with gunshot wounds to his right arm and right side. According to court documents, the violent encounter stemmed from an argument over allegedly stolen property, which escalated from a fistfight to gunfire. Witnesses reported that O'Neal had confronted Carter about a purportedly stolen drug pipe. The altercation turned physical, with O'Neal allegedly punching Carter. What followed was an exchange of gunfire that left Carter dead and another man seriously wounded.
In the days following the shooting, prosecutors filed charges against Donovan Bailey O'Neal, including second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. In his initial court appearance in Pierce County Superior Court, O'Neal pleaded not guilty to the charges. A judge ordered him to be held on $2 million bail. An obituary for Dustin "Dusty" Camm Carter described him as a man with a quick humor and a tender heart, who was loved for his generous and loyal nature. It mentioned his struggles with the lasting effects of toxic exposure from a previous job and his deep love for his children. The obituary painted a picture of a man who, despite his personal battles, was cherished by his family and friends.
