Man shot, critically injured in University Place [Washington] after allegedly jumping a couple

Two men were shot in University Place early Tuesday after one allegedly attacked the other as he was walking with his girlfriend. The confrontation occurred about 5:35 a.m. at 40th Street West and Sunset Drive West.

When Pierce County sheriff’s deputies arrived, they found the victim suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg. Deputies applied a tourniquet and discovered the suspect lying in the grass nearby suffering from at least one gunshot wound to the chest. Both men were taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma. The suspect is listed in critical condition.

The victim and his girlfriend told detectives they were walking west on 40th Street West when they noticed two men who appeared to be following them. They allegedly stopped at one point to allow the men to pass, but the suspects also stopped.

“He said the suspect grabbed him by the throat and said, ‘This is how it’s gonna go down,’” sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.

The victim told deputies he was afraid for his life and shot the other man once or twice. A pistol was found at the scene. The couple said they do not know the suspects, one of whom ran after the shooting and has not been identified.