Police catch suspected killer screaming at victim's body
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LAKEWOOD, Wash. -- Police say a man suspected of shooting a rival gang member to death was caught yelling threats at the victim's body early Wednesday.
Lakewood police Lt. Chris Lawler said the shooting happened just after 3 a.m. at the Williamsburg Apartments on Bridgeport Way SW when the two men got into an argument about which gang was better.
A person who heard the gunshots called 911 and said they also saw a man dragging a body in the parking lot. When officers arrived a few minutes later they saw a man come running out of the apartment building and point a gun at the body that was on the ground in the parking lot.
The man yelled that he was going to kill the victim, Lawler said, but it was not clear if the man who had been shot was even still alive at that moment. Officers ordered the armed man to drop the gun and he was taken into custody without further incident.
The 29-year-old victim was declared dead at the scene, but his name has not been released.
Lawler said the suspect, identified as 32-year-old William Horton Jr., admitted to police that he was the shooter.
The victim was a member of the Crip gang and Horton is a Gangster Disciple from Chicago, according to Lawler.
Horton was booked into the Pierce County Jail for investigation of second-degree murder.
Lakewood police Lt. Chris Lawler said the shooting happened just after 3 a.m. at the Williamsburg Apartments on Bridgeport Way SW when the two men got into an argument about which gang was better.
A person who heard the gunshots called 911 and said they also saw a man dragging a body in the parking lot. When officers arrived a few minutes later they saw a man come running out of the apartment building and point a gun at the body that was on the ground in the parking lot.
The man yelled that he was going to kill the victim, Lawler said, but it was not clear if the man who had been shot was even still alive at that moment. Officers ordered the armed man to drop the gun and he was taken into custody without further incident.
The 29-year-old victim was declared dead at the scene, but his name has not been released.
Lawler said the suspect, identified as 32-year-old William Horton Jr., admitted to police that he was the shooter.
The victim was a member of the Crip gang and Horton is a Gangster Disciple from Chicago, according to Lawler.
Horton was booked into the Pierce County Jail for investigation of second-degree murder.
Willie Horton? that name rings a bell!
......fighting over which gang was better. At least there was a good reason to murder someone. Geeze.............
 @Beau's Mom Sounds legit to me.
Another one (gang member) bites the dust!
overkill
32 yrs. old and still in a gang ? guess i am out of touch - thought gangs were mostly teen and early 20's .....
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These idiots have about as much sense as was given the ground squirrel.
Stay classy Lakewood!
Glad to hear another gang banger being locked up. A psychopathic one at that.
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@Rich Chic Oh really? After all your constant replies, no doubt you're a hypocrite.
Good ridance to both. I just wish we did not pay for the funeral and the lock up courts lawers judges and so on.
OK - I can't help but propose a moratorium be put in place on all further "Willie Horton" references...
We get it.
You GOP goons are just hopeless. Willie Horton??  That might have worked in 1988 to secure Bush 1 term, you losers. Lil' Bush and Cheney handicapped the GOP party for the rest of your miserable baby Boomer lives with the help of the Neo-Cons. . Enjoy the 21st century and another 4 years of Obama. Willie Horton? Good gravy!!
 I wonder if this guy is any relation to another famous "Willie Horton"?
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"Officers ordered the armed man to drop the gun and he was taken into custody without further incident."Â
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That's too bad. Now we long-suffering taxpayers are on the hook to provide tens of thousands of dollars MORE to house, feed, give "free" medical care to, give "free" legal counsel to, yet ANOTHER filthy traitorous so-called "gang" member! And... this shambling (accused) MURDERER isn't even from around here! Utterly disgusting what our Balkanizing "society" has become.
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The really frustrating thing is, even if convicted, he'll get the standard wrist-slap treatment for MURDER and be back out on the streets within a decade or so... to most likely cause more misery and expense for us!
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More so-called "thugs" hangin'... Less so-called "gangs" bangin'!
I'm sorry that you feel like such a victim of a taxpayer.... but what would you suggest? Should we not house or feed the suspect? Should we deny him medical care if he requires it? Instead, should we contain him and provide nothing more and just watch as he starves and suffers... or should we just kill him?
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Quit playing the victim. It's not all about you.
You and your type are the reason why these gangbangers are here.. You enable them so they just keep killing and killing. You ask what to do? you can either coddle them or punish them. I vote for a deterrant. You hang one coyote on the fence and the others stay away. you can spend your money giving him a comfortable place until he gets out and you get shot in the crossfire.
I'll just say it - many of these gang members seem to have legitimately low IQs. I don't mean that in the rhetorical sense. I mean that if you actually gave them a legit nonverbal IQ test like Raven's Progressive Matrices, they'd score somewhere above the range for mental retardation, but not very FAR above - something like 1.5 standard deviations below the average of 100.Â
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It's an interesting phenomenon. Different types of criminals seem to have different IQ ranges. Financial criminals and frauds tend to be near the top, while street gang members seem to be right near the bottom.
 @Whobeke Are we expected to give them more slack because of this?
@Whobeke Many of them also have a problem controlling their anger and violent impulses, and for whatever reason, don't seem to think before they act, which is why many of them spend decades in prison because of one life-changing moment where they lose their self-control.
Wow. Willie sounds like he has serious anger management issues. Not really a big societal loss, but the family I'm sure will miss the victim.
one dummy shoots another dummy,i see a victemless crime! win/win.
Maybe this savage was on vacation and decided to visit the sleepy little town of Lakewood for some rest and relaxation.
Willie Horton? Gee that name sounds familiar...
I'm willing to bet there are at least 100 in Chicagoland, easy...
"....Horton is a Gangster Disciple from Chicago...."
And why exactly is a gangsta from Chi-town in Lakewood doing his dirty bidness???
 @Throbbinhood He couldn't afford the gangster life in Chicago..so he's balling on a Lakewood budget now.
@Throbbinhood probably a travelling salesman.
Gangbanger offs another gang banger....Oh Well...should have been mutual.
Well, I guess his gang was better huh?
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They were both gang members? How shocking!!
"Police catch killer" well that's slightly over-advertised. They were there and he presented himself. Not much of a run and catch going on ...
Hey, if a fish jumps in your boat it still counts, right?
Nice analogy.....
"When officers arrived a few minutes later"Â Â Â Few minutes later. Hmmm. So when something bad is going down people can expect the police to arrive a few minutes later. A lot of people can die in a few minutes. Yet there are those who think all you have to do is call the cops and all will be well. I'm not convinced.
 @SeattleJoe I guess it depends on where you live, but after listening to the scanner in my own area, I realized you better realistically be prepared to wait 20 to 45 minutes, depending on what your emergency is. Definitely more than a few minutes unless by coincidence the police happen to be right nearby when you have an emergency.
 @Willow Exactly.
 @Willow  @SeattleJoe But you want less taxes, right? More police = higher taxes.
 @glowhole  @Willow Personally I'm not calling for more police I'm calling for people to wake up and take responsibility. There are a variety of things a person can do to protect themselves and calling 911 should be considered only one part of it.
@SeattleJoe "A few minutes" really isn't that long of a time. Do you expect a cop to be on every corner of every street at all times?Â
@MomOf2Â I think, what SeattleJoe is getting at, is that we need to be prepared to protect/defend ourselves, until the police arrive.
Know the area in which you find yourselves, and always be prepared for anything to happen. Take the appropriate precautions...
Now, if I can only get Pinnicle to sell me their Dragonskin... (body armor)
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 @Mr. H That is precisely what I"m talking about. I've discussed issues for a number of years on forums and it seems that there are a lot of people out there that believe that if something bad is happening that all you have to do is call the cops and they will magically appear and save them. The reality is the cops can't be everywhere and usually can't make it quickly enough to save people. People need to take care of themselves first and at a minimum be able to hold out until the cops get there and that is more than just going inside and locking the door.
Thinning the herd.
Seems pretty clear to me.
Lakehood
Methhead?
Wild wild west...
Sounds like he ambushed the victim then tried to stage a "self defense struggle"?
Another insane killing. Where does it end?
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Choosing murder or suicide to solve temporary problems has got to stop.Â
Well, those who want to murder someone, need to start with themselves... problem would be solved really quick...
The article is very clear folks. Read where it says ...."but it was not clear if the man who had been shot...", etc.
Just cause it's sad outside, or people didn't really read or retain the article, doesn't mean KOMO's writer's deserve crap shots taken at them. I think KOMO has the best site of any of the Seattle sources.
 @I AM CATALYST5 I AM Read where it says "By KOMO Staff Published: Oct 24, 2012 at 7:10 AM PDT Last Updated: Oct 24, 2012 at 8:24 AM PDT"
 @I AM CATALYST5 I AM If you read the story before KOMO updated it to add that you would understand.
 @I AM CATALYST5 I AM People like to blame their own shortcomings; in this case reading comprehension issues, to the writer of the news article