On the evening of January 31, 2018, a burst of gunfire shattered the night on Kent, Washington's East Hill, leaving a community shaken and a family engulfed in renewed grief. When the chaos subsided, 19-year-old Duane Tyson Jr., a Black male, lay dead, his life cut short by a gunshot wound to the chest. Two other teenagers, both 17-year-old males, were also wounded in the confrontation; one was struck by a bullet, and the other was hit by a fleeing vehicle as he tried to escape the scene.
The shooting occurred around 10 p.m. in the 10800 block of Southeast 240th Street, an area known to law enforcement. Investigators believed the incident was possibly gang-related. A portable police surveillance camera, installed in the area as a crime deterrent, recorded the event, providing detectives with footage that they hoped would be crucial to the investigation. Despite this, and the questioning of witnesses, authorities reported that some individuals were not forthcoming with information. In the immediate aftermath, police stated they were searching for a blue Dodge Charger that may have been connected to the gunman, but no arrests were made, and no suspects were publicly identified.
For Duane's mother, Patrice Thomas, the news was a devastating echo of a recent tragedy. Just seven months prior, her daughter, Che'Reonna Thomas, had been killed in a shooting in Seattle's Rainier Valley. The loss of a second child to gun violence in such a short span of time was an unimaginable burden. Described as an intelligent young man with a bright smile and a personality that could light up a room, Duane was a father to a young son. His family, still mourning the loss of his sister, was now faced with planning another funeral, their pain compounded by the unanswered questions surrounding his death. The investigation into the death of Duane Tyson Jr. remains unresolved, with no publicly announced arrests or suspects in the years that have followed.
