Crime Problem · Parkland, WA · May 25, 2026

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Parkland, WA Teen Killed in Robbery — Suspects Still at Large

On Sunday evening, May 24, 2026, a 16-year-old boy was walking with his girlfriend along Sheridan Avenue South in Parkland, Washington — an unincorporated community in Pierce County — when an approaching vehicle slowed and called him over. What happened next took seconds. The occupants robbed him of his jewelry, fired a single gunshot, and drove away. At 7:13 p.m., dozens of 911 calls poured into dispatch. Deputies arrived to find the teenager lying in the roadway. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

His girlfriend watched it happen. She told detectives she saw four people inside a red four-door car she did not recognize — the only description investigators have released as of publication. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said it does not believe the attack was targeted; the victim was, in the words of one official, a “true victim” — in the wrong place, at the wrong moment, for the price of a piece of jewelry.

As of this writing, no arrests have been made. Detectives are requesting any surveillance footage captured within a five-mile radius of the 10200 block of Sheridan Avenue South and 102nd Street South between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Sunday. The killing is the latest in a troubling run of violent crime in Pierce County, where the pace of homicides in 2025 was tracking toward one of the deadliest years in recent memory — and where the government overseeing public safety is run entirely by Democrats.

• 16years oldvictim's age — walking with his girlfriend when attacked— Pierce County Sheriff's Office blotter, May 25, 2026
• 7:13 PMlocal timeshooting reported — broad daylight, residential street— PCSO blotter
• 4suspectsseen inside a red four-door vehicle that fled the scene— KIRO 7 / PCSO
• 0arrestsmade as of publication — suspects still at large— PCSO, May 25, 2026
• 12homicidesin Pierce County by Q1 2025 — pace toward 24 for the year— FOX 13 Seattle / PCSO

According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office blotter posted May 25, 2026, deputies responded at approximately 7:13 p.m. on Sunday, May 24, after multiple callers reported a male lying in the roadway at the 10200 block of Sheridan Avenue South in Parkland. The victim — a 16-year-old boy whose name has not yet been released by authorities — was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The boy had been walking with his girlfriend when a vehicle pulled alongside them and called him over. Suspects inside robbed him of jewelry, shot him once, and fled. His girlfriend witnessed the entire sequence. She described four occupants in a red four-door car she did not recognize. Detectives emphasized they do not believe the attack was targeted — the victim was chosen at random, likely for what he was wearing.

“The people inside robbed the boy of some jewelry, shot him, and then took off.”

Pierce County Sheriff's Office blotter · May 25, 2026

The sheriff’s office is requesting surveillance video from the area around 102nd Street South and Sheridan Avenue South, and from any location within a five-mile radius of that intersection, captured between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.on Sunday, May 24. Residents are warned not to approach or respond to unfamiliar vehicles — the suspects are described as dangerous. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office and speak with a detective directly.

As of the morning of May 25, 2026 — more than 15 hours after the shooting — the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office has made no arrests. The investigation is active. Detectives have not released a description of any individual suspect, only the vehicle: a red four-door car. The victim’s name has not been publicly identified, pending family notification.

The robbery-homicide pattern — suspects in a vehicle targeting pedestrians for jewelry or personal property — is not new to Pierce County. KIRO 7 reported that a separate 18-year-old was shot and killed in Parkland in a prior incident. The sheriff’s office has called on the community to be vigilant about strangers in vehicles who call out to pedestrians.

This killing did not happen in a vacuum. By the first quarter of 2025, Pierce County had already recorded 12 homicides — putting the county on pace for roughly 24 to 26 murdersby year’s end, nearly 30% above the 2024 total of 19. The sheriff’s office publicly raised the alarm.

As FOX 13 Seattle reported in 2025, sheriff’s officials noted they were “only seven deaths away from meeting last year’s numbers, and we’re not even into the summer.” Three of the early homicides involved juvenile victims. The death of a 16-year-old in a street robbery is, horrifically, consistent with that trajectory.

Pierce County is the second-largest county in Washington State by population, with roughly 1 million residents. It receives a D+ grade from CrimeGrade.org, placing it in the 25th percentile for safety among U.S. counties — meaning 75% of American counties are safer. Its violent crime rate runs above the national average. Parkland itself is unincorporated, meaning it falls entirely under Pierce County Sheriff jurisdiction — not a city police department.

Washington State has been among the most aggressive in the country on police reform legislation. A 2021 law severely restricted when officers could use force, pursue fleeing suspects, or make certain arrests — provisions that law enforcement organizations said tied their hands. Some of those restrictions have been partially rolled back after public backlash, but critics argue the damage to officer confidence and proactive policing was lasting. Meanwhile, homicide rates in Pierce County continued rising through 2023, 2024, and into 2025.

Governor Bob Ferguson (D-WA) has not issued a public statement specifically about the Parkland teen’s killing as of publication. His administration’s broader crime record is one of measured rhetoric — pledging to address gun violence through legislation while communities like Parkland absorb the human cost of a system that has struggled with rising homicide rates, staffing shortfalls, and the aftermath of sweeping police reform laws passed during the prior Inslee administration.

The pattern documented in Pierce County — robbery-homicides targeting young people on public streets, suspects who escape without arrest, grieving families left waiting for justice — is the ground-level cost of policies set in Olympia and prosecuted in the county courthouse. A 16-year-old is dead. His girlfriend was a witness. And four people in a red car are somewhere in Pierce County tonight.

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office homicide unit is leading the investigation. Detectives are processing the scene, reviewing available surveillance footage, and working with the victim’s girlfriend, who remains the only identified eyewitness. The victim’s name will be released once next-of-kin have been notified.

The lack of arrests within the first 24 hours is concerning but not unusual in robbery-homicide cases where the suspects flee by vehicle. Detectives have indicated the case may hinge on surveillance video — the community response to that request will be decisive. If the four suspects are identified and charged, the case moves to Pierce County Prosecutor Mary Robnett’s office, which will determine what charges to bring.

This page will be updated as new information becomes available. If you have information about this case, contact the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office directly. Do not approach suspects or vehicles that match the description.