Pedro Balderas, 25, was fatally shot on Christmas Day 2023 in Federal Way, Washington. The shooting happened around 8:41 p.m. in the parking lot of the Pavilion Apartments on Southwest Campus Drive. Neighbors who heard gunfire called 911; officers found Balderas with multiple gunshot wounds, attempted life-saving measures, and medics took over, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Witnesses reported seeing Balderas talking to someone in a gray car shortly before the shooting. One neighbor said they heard voices and then saw someone inside the car fire shots; another recalled hearing screams for help immediately afterward. Balderas’s mother, Rebecca Armas, said she was notified by his girlfriend and arrived to find him already deceased; she has urged neighbors who may have information to come forward. The Federal Way Police Department is investigating the death as a homicide, and no arrests or publicly identified suspects have been announced.

Pedro grew up in Federal Way, graduated from Federal Way High School, and was working at a car dealership in Renton. Friends and family remember him as kind-hearted and a peacemaker. If anyone who lived near the Pavilion Apartments that night saw or heard anything that could help, please share what you know with investigators.