Former NBA star Shawn Kemp was arrested in Washington on Wednesday on a felony charge of “drive-by shooting.”
Pierce County records show that Kemp, 53, who last played for Orlando Magic, was booked into Pierce County jail just before 6 p.m. — four hours after officers responded to reports of shots being fired in the parking lot of the Tacoma Mall, the Tacoma Police Department stated in a Facebook post.
“One of the drivers fired off several rounds at the occupants of the other vehicle. The victim vehicle fled the area,” the statement added.
Officers later found the suspected shooter and “detained him without incident,” the statement continued. They also recovered a gun from the scene.
In a separate Twitter post, Tacoma Police confirmed the incident took place when “an altercation between the occupants of 2 cars led to shots being fired at a parking lot in the 4500 blk of S. Steele St.”
The post added that “One car fled. No injuries were reported. A gun was recovered. A 53-yr-old male was booked for Drive-By Shooting. The investigation is ongoing.”
Neither report mentioned the former Seattle Sonics star by name.
Kemp is a six-time NBA All-Star. He was a first-round draft pick in the 1989 NBA draft and helped the Seattle Sonics reach the 1996 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Chicago Bulls. As well as the Sonics and Orlando Magic, Kemp played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trailblazers during his 14-year career.
In 2020, Kemp opened a cannabis shop called Shawn Kemp’s Cannabis in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle. Last month he also opened a second location in the city.
If convicted, the former NBA star could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, with a fine of up to $20,000, per the Washington Post.
