A house party on the outskirts of Sumner, Washington, turned deadly in the late hours of September 14, 2024. Javaun Cordova, a 30-year-old Hispanic/Latino man, was found in the driveway of a home on Riverside Drive East with multiple gunshot wounds. First responders pronounced his injuries fatal; the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide.

The party had been hosted by a teenager while her parents were out of town. Deputies from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department and officers from Bonney Lake and Puyallup responded after gunfire was reported just before 2 a.m. Two 16-year-old boys suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds and were taken to a local hospital.

Investigators say a Honda tried to flee the scene and rammed a Bonney Lake police cruiser before officers stopped it by pushing it into a parked car. Two 16-year-old boys found in that vehicle were arrested and booked into juvenile detention on suspicion of unlawful firearm possession; the driver also faces a second-degree assault allegation for ramming the police car. The investigation into the circumstances of Cordova’s killing is ongoing.

If anyone at the party or nearby that night has information about what led to the shooting, please share what was seen or heard.