On the evening of October 2, 2024, 26-year-old Hispanic/Latino man Oliver Naseri Vaovasa was shot while walking to a market on Hosmer Street in Tacoma, Washington. The shooting occurred just after 8:00 p.m.; officers responding to reports of gunfire found him near the 9500 block of South Steele Street, about a block from the reported shots. He was taken to a local hospital and died that evening. The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide, and it was recorded as Tacoma’s 19th homicide of 2024.

No arrests have been announced and no suspects have been publicly identified. Friends and family remember Oliver as a quiet man who enjoyed playing basketball and spoke when he had something to say. The Hosmer Business Association has hired private security to patrol the neighborhood after the shooting.

If anyone saw or heard anything that night near Hosmer Street or South Steele Street, or knows more about Oliver’s movements before the shooting, please come forward with information.