On Sunday afternoon, January 15, 2023, 16-year-old Wyatt Owens was shot while driving a white BMW near North 43rd Street and North Pearl Street in Tacoma, Washington. Around 5:15 p.m., a dark four-door sedan with tinted windows pulled up alongside his car and an occupant fired, striking Wyatt in the head. His vehicle then left the road and crashed into the yard of a home in the 4300 block of North Pearl Street. A witness who saw the crash reported believing the driver had been shot.

First responders found Wyatt with a critical gunshot wound and he was transported to a local hospital. He died five days later; the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide from a gunshot wound to the head. Tacoma police have investigated, exploring whether the shooting followed a road rage incident; Wyatt’s father, Michael Owens, said his son was not involved in street racing and spoke about widespread gun violence. No arrests or public suspect identifications have been announced.

Wyatt’s family and friends remembered him as compassionate and humorous, and he was an organ donor who helped eight people and provided skin grafts for veterans. If anyone has information about the shooting near North 43rd and North Pearl on January 15, please contact Tacoma police.