In the early spring of 2022, the life of a young Black/African American male, 15-year-old Marquise Slack, was tragically cut short. On the evening of March 19th, in Parkland, a suburb of Tacoma, Washington, gunshots shattered the night at the Heatherstone Apartments. When Pierce County Sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene in the 10400 block of 19th Avenue Court South, they found Marquise inside one of the apartments, deceased from a gunshot wound to the head.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office would later rule his death a homicide.
Investigators at the scene recovered 38 shell casings that appeared to come from three different firearms, indicating a chaotic and violent encounter. Detectives believe the shooting was a targeted and gang-related incident, though it remains unclear if Marquise was the intended victim. According to witnesses, another adult male was also struck by gunfire but had left the apartment complex in a vehicle before law enforcement arrived. Authorities were unable to make contact with this second individual. Marquise, a resident of nearby Lakewood, did not live at the apartment complex where the shooting took place.
In the days following the tragic event, the Pierce County Sheriff's Department continued to investigate the circumstances that led to the gunfire. Despite the recovery of significant physical evidence from the scene and witness statements, no immediate arrests were made in connection with the death of Marquise Slack. The investigation into the identity of the person or persons responsible for the shooting that ended the teenager's life has remained ongoing. As of late March 2022, no suspects had been publicly identified or taken into custody.
