TACOMA, Wash. (KOMO) — An employee responding to a business alarm was shot by burglars early Thursday in Tacoma, Washington.
The shooting occurred at 2:59 a.m., according to the Tacoma Police Department. Surveillance video of the burglary shows an armed robber shooting an employee after responding to the business alarm.
The business owner provided the surveillance footage of the shooting to KOMO.
Suspected burglars drove through the doors of the business — either a restaurant or grocery store, police said — before 3 a.m. and the employee, a man who lives nearby, heard the alarm. Surveillance video, provided by the owner of Los Amigos Supermarket, show a Boys and Girls Club van being used to repeatedly ram the doors.
According to police, the same van was used to leave the scene and was later found dumped.
Sergio Pelayo, owner of Los Amigos Supermarket, opened his dream business 20 years ago, after moving here from Mexico.
It’s a hard situation because I’m scared,” said Pelayo. “I’m working here every single day, my family, the employees for a long time and when you see this case, it’s scary.The business owner said he is frustrated because this incident marks the sixth time his store is getting robbed this year alone.
“I asking to the government, to the police, to do something for the business in Tacoma, please,” said Pelayo.
From January to November 2022, there’s been 172 robberies. In 2021, there were 123 robberies in the same period.
Burglaries are up too. So far this year, there's been 572 burglaries in sector three. During the same time period in 2021, there were 516 burglaries.
Citywide, Tacoma Police say property crime is also up. Tacoma Police say there were 662 robberies citywide between Jan. 1 and November. There were only 421 for the same period in 2021 across the city.
Citywide burglaries have also risen. There were 2,166 as of Nov. 13, compared to 1,805 a year earlier.
Even next-door business owner Lorenzo Holder said he hasn’t seen crime this high.
“We were also burglarized twice,” said Holder. “It’s really troubling, it’s concerning. I think we need some answers because I’ve been here 14 years, I’ve never seen this happen before”
While police search for the robbers, Pelayo is wondering if he should move.
“I asking to the government, to the police, to do something for the business in Tacoma, please,” said Pelayo.
The employee who lives nearby went to the business and interrupted a burglary before being shot, police said. The injured employee was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
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