In a tragic turn of events stemming from a soured friendship, 37-year-old Stephen M. Collins, a White male, was shot and killed on the evening of January 2, 2023, in Marysville, Washington. The incident unfolded around 9:40 p.m. at the Hallmark House Apartments on 47th Avenue NE, where Collins resided. The man later arrested for the crime was identified as Khoa Nguyen, 36, a longtime friend of Collins.
The conflict between the two men reportedly began about a month prior to the fatal
shooting when Nguyen, after claiming to have been involved in a shooting and needing a place to stay, allegedly attempted to steal some of Collins' belongings. This incident caused a significant falling out between the two. On the day of the shooting, Nguyen had sent Collins a text message apologizing. That evening, he arrived at Collins' apartment complex. Collins, not wanting to confront Nguyen, initially ignored him. However, upon realizing he had left his phone in his car, Collins went out to the parking lot.
Surveillance footage from the apartment complex captured the final moments of Collins' life. He was seen approaching Nguyen's Honda Pilot and speaking to him through the window. Suddenly, two flashes are visible on the video, and Collins falls to the ground. The gunman then exits the vehicle, walks over to Collins, and quickly returns to his car before fleeing the scene. Collins' girlfriend, upon hearing the gunshots, ran outside to find him on the ground and immediately called 911. Despite life-saving efforts by medics who arrived shortly after, Collins was pronounced dead at the scene from what the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office later confirmed were three gunshot wounds.
Following the shooting, Collins' girlfriend provided investigators with Nguyen's name and location. Authorities located Nguyen at his home in Granite Falls, leading to a tense, hours-long standoff with a SWAT team, during which Nguyen reportedly threatened to harm himself. He eventually surrendered in the early morning hours of January 3 and was taken into custody. Investigators recovered a 9 mm pistol with no serial number and a Honda Pilot with two different license plates. Khoa Nguyen later pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and unlawful possession of a firearm. In January 2024, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the killing of his childhood friend.
