Prosecutors say a brief street prank turned into a chase, armed robbery and a near-fatal gunshot wound for one teenager.

TACOMA, Wash. — A 31-year-old Tacoma man is accused of chasing down four teenagers, robbing them at gunpoint and shooting one in the chest after a water balloon hit his car on Feb. 28, according to charging documents and local police reporting.

Prosecutors say the case now reaches well beyond an assault tied to a prank. Majeed Guerry is charged in Pierce County Superior Court with attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, four counts of first-degree robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm and multiple counts of felony harassment. The victim survived, but investigators say the bullet came close to causing a fatal injury, making the case one of those sudden street encounters that moved quickly from juvenile mischief to a major violent-crime prosecution.

Investigators say the episode began around 9:14 p.m. when Tacoma officers were sent to the 3200 block of South Tyler Street after reports of a robbery and shooting involving four teens in a car. The boys told police they had been driving around the city throwing water balloons at passing vehicles when one balloon struck a silver sedan and sent water through an open window. Prosecutors say the driver, later identified as Guerry, followed them into a dead-end gravel lot near Mullen Street and the Tacoma dump, then blocked their way out. Once the car was trapped, witnesses said, the driver got out armed with a handgun and confronted the group. According to court records described by local outlets, he shouted threats, including, “You think that’s funny?” and told the teens he should kill them for getting his car wet.

From there, the allegations grow more serious with each step. Prosecutors say Guerry walked to the passenger side, pointed the gun at all four boys and demanded money and property. One teen turned over about $100, investigators said, after an earlier attempt to hand over $1 only made the suspect angrier. The front-seat passenger, who police say was identified by witnesses as the boy who had thrown the balloon, was then struck in the face with the gun several times. Charging documents say the suspect pressed the pistol against the teen at close range and fired from less than a foot away. The shot entered the teen’s chest and exited through the armpit, according to investigators, who said the wound was serious but not expected to be fatal. The victim was able to speak with police after he was taken for treatment, giving detectives a detailed account of the confrontation.

The case file described by local media also lays out why investigators believe the shooting was intentional. All four teens gave accounts that police said were consistent in their main details: the chase, the threats, the gunpoint demands, the blows to the victim’s face and the single shot fired at close range. One account in the probable cause affidavit said the teen remembered the gun feeling cold when it touched his temple. Prosecutors later told the court they reserved the right to add or amend charges based on the continuing investigation, and by March 25, charging documents cited by KOMO said attempted first-degree murder had been filed. Detectives also said the gun used in the shooting had not been recovered, leaving a central piece of physical evidence still missing even as witness statements and surveillance material helped move the case forward.

Authorities say Guerry was not legally allowed to possess a firearm because of prior felony convictions. Local reports described him as a four-time convicted felon, a detail that added a separate unlawful-possession count to the case and likely sharpened the prosecution’s argument that he posed a danger if released. FOX 13 reported prosecutors also pointed to a history that included assaults and protection-order violations when arguing over bail. That history matters because it shifts the story from a one-night outburst to a larger question about access to guns by people already barred from having them. The underlying accusation is not that the confrontation simply spun out of control, but that the suspect escalated a minor act of vandalism or harassment into a sequence of separate crimes: pursuit, restraint, threats, robbery, beating and shooting.

Police said detectives built the case with more than the teens’ statements. KOMO reported investigators used surveillance video, license plate reader data and cellphone records to identify a silver Kia K5 believed to have been used in the chase. Video from a nearby casino later showed Guerry in clothing that matched the victims’ description shortly after the shooting, according to the same report. Law&Crime and local stations reported that all four teens later identified him in photo lineups. FOX 13 said Tacoma police arrested him on March 20 at his apartment. At an early hearing, he pleaded not guilty. FOX 13 reported prosecutors initially asked for $300,000 bail and a judge first set bail at $150,000. KOMO later reported that at re-arraignment on March 25, the court increased bail to $300,000, reflecting the broader and more serious charging posture.

The scene itself adds to the starkness of the case. Investigators say the confrontation happened at the end of a dead-end gravel stretch, a place where the teens’ car had little room to escape and where a moment of horseplay turned into what prosecutors describe as an armed ambush. The language attributed to the suspect, including threats to kill the boys, gives the records a raw and frightening tone. Those statements are also important legally because they help support the felony-harassment allegations and the prosecution’s claim that the shooting was not accidental. For the teenagers, the difference between a reckless prank and a life-threatening encounter appears to have been measured in only a few minutes of driving, a short chase and a brief stop in a dark corner of the city.

The case stood in Pierce County Superior Court in late March with Guerry facing a stack of violent-felony allegations and prosecutors continuing to describe the investigation as active. The next major milestone is further court proceedings on the attempted murder and related counts as the court sorts out evidence, scheduling and any additional motions.

Author note: Last updated April 17, 2026.