The victim of a non-fatal shooting in Federal Way may have ties to the “Kia Boyz,” a loose collective of young car thieves who target Kias and Hyundais.

According to a case report from the Federal Way Police Department, around 11:30 a.m. April 15, an 18-year-old male was shot in the arm, then arrived at an apartment complex in Federal Way and subsequently got a ride to St. Francis Hospital from a stranger driving a Chevrolet Avalanche.

The case report from the Federal Way Police Department said an officer, while speaking with the victim at the hospital, observed the victim going in and out of consciousness and unable to speak. When given a notepad to communicate, the victim said he did not want to communicate with police.

When approached by the officers, the family of the victim said they did not want to speak and were upset with police questioning. Despite most family members being unwilling to speak, the case report stated that one family member of the victim did speak with an officer.

Despite no known location of the shooting or the shooter, investigating officers obtained details of the aftermath of the shooting.

The incident

According to the case report, a family member of the victim told police that they and two other family members were waiting for a ride at a family member’s apartment. The case report showed that further police investigation corroborates this apartment as being at the same apartment complex where the victim was picked up and taken to the hospital.

The family member said while waiting for the victim, the victim arrived at the doorstep of the apartment smiling. The family member said the victim then held his right arm in pain, and the family member described the victim as becoming “out of it,” according to the case report. The family member added that the victim lived outside Federal Way and no longer attended school.

According to the case report, upon checking Safe City cameras, the officers found footage showing the family members approaching a Chevrolet Avalanche in the apartment complex’s parking lot. The driver of theAvalanche said he had never before seen the victim or their family members, but noticed a gunshot wound on the victim’s arm.

The report said that at about 11:40 a.m., a family member of the victim and another person approached the Chevrolet Avalanche and spoke with the driver. Subsequently, footage showed that one of the family members ran back toward the apartment complex. They and another person were then seen on camera carrying the victim down the stairs of the building to the Chevrolet Avalanche, ultimately placing the victim inside the vehicle. All three family members and the victim were then transported to the hospital by the driver of the Chevrolet Avalanche. The report said that officers determined that the driver of the Chevrolet Avalanche had no further involvement in the incident.

According to the case report, after the incident, officers were attempting to do a wellness check at the building of the apartment where the victim was brought down to the Chevrolet Avalanche.

During the attempt, the report said that an unrelated occupant, who lived in the same building where the victim was brought down, called to say there were police officers at their doorstep. The unrelated occupant then stated that a nearby unit in the same building was a “problem unit.”

The unrelated occupant said that many juveniles come to and from the “problem unit,” and they are associated with stolen vehicles and call themselves the “Kia Boyz.” The unrelated occupant also stated that the juveniles have weapons. The case report stated that officers at the apartment complex found a potential blood splatter near and on the door of the “problem unit,” but attempts to contact residents of the unit were unsuccessful.

Notably, the case report stated that one of the victim’s family members was seen on Safe City cameras about an hour before the incident at the apartment complex talking to someone in a stolen Hyundai. That vehicle was reported stolen to the Tacoma Police Department. The victim’s family member then spoke to another person in a gold Hyundai, which the case report said was registered to someone known to have gang affiliations. Hyundais are among the vehicles stolen by many people who claim the title of “Kia Boys.”