Former Seattle Supersonics star Shawn Kemp was involved in a gun incident last month in Tacoma, Washington, allegedly firing a handgun in self-defense in a mall parking lot at a pair of men who stole his phone. Kemp was initially arrested in March and now, he's been charged with assault of the first degree, as reported by Woj:
“Former Sonics star Shawn Kemp has been charged with assault in first degree stemming from March incident when Kemp allegedly fired a handgun in parking lot of a Tacoma shopping mall. His lawyer Scott Boatman tells ESPN that Kemp will enter plea of not guilty in upcoming arraignment.”
The Tacoma Police Department shared this info about the incident not long after it occurred on March 8th:
“At 1:58 pm, 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 department tweeted on Wednesday. “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.”
According to the investigation, Shawn Kemp used the gun and then discarded it into a bush beside a nearby building. The 53-year-old had his car broken into, with his iPhone being one of the items taken. He then proceeded to track down the phone, which took him to a parking lot. When approaching the vehicle, the men shot at Kemp. He was simply just defending himself.
Kemp's attorney had this to say after the charges Friday, insisting his client is innocent:
Kemp attorney Scott Boatman’s statement to ESPN: https://t.co/5tZnawfHNF pic.twitter.com/T4dARTGqRG
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 14, 2023
The arraignment date is scheduled for May 4th.
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