Former NBA all-star Shawn Kemp arrested in connection to Tacoma drive-by shooting

On Wednesday, the Tacoma Police Department tweeted that there were shots fired following an altercation between the occupants of two cars in the Tacoma Mall parking lot at the 4500 block of S. Steele St at 1:58 pm Pacific Time.

One of the cars fled the scene and no injuries were reported but a gun was later recovered.

twitter.com/TacomaPD/status/1633648952183758850

According to Tacoma Police, 53-year-old Kemp was arrested in the mall parking lot and was booked for drive-by shooting, a Class B felony in Washington, carrying a prison sentence of up to 10 years. He remains in custody, according to Pierce County Corrections records.

He had previously been arrested for drug possession in Washington in 2005 and pleaded guilty. Kemp was arrested again in 2006 for misdemeanor marijuana possession in Houston, Texas.

The former Sonic was drafted in 1989 and played from 1990-2004 in the NBA, eight of which he spent in Seattle. He and Gary Payton led the Sonics to an NBA Finals appearance in the 1996-96 season, their first appearance since 1979 but lost to Michael Jordan and the Bulls. The six-time all-star was also named to the three all-NBA teams.

Kemp also played for the Cavaliers and Trail Blazers before ending his career with the Magic.

The former NBA player opened a cannabis shop located in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood in 2020 and last month opened a second location in Seattle's SODO neighborhood.

2022 was the deadliest year on record for Tacoma, Washington with the highest homicide count since officials began keeping crime records in 1980