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Suspect in Safeway shooting charged with first degree assault
The man who shot a shopper who was leaving the Point Fosdick Drive Safeway store with groceries late Saturday told police he had asked the victim to return to the cashier and show his receipt.
Instead, the suspect told police, the victim began hitting him. So he pulled his gun and shot him.
The alleged shooter, 70-year-old Patrick Michael Lathrop, was arrested and booked into Pierce County Jail. He was released on bail Sunday night.
Lathrop was charged with first degree assault by the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on Monday.
Suspect surrendered immediately
According to court documents, Gig Harbor Police officers were dispatched to Safeway at about 11:40 p.m. Saturday because a man had been shot in the neck and was in the store. When they arrived, they were approached by Lathrop, who said he was the shooter. He surrendered and officers took a 9mm Glock handgun from him.
— Gig Harbor Police (@GigHarborPolice) May 1, 2022
Officers went in the store and contacted the victim, who was alert and responsive and holding paper towels against his throat to control the bleeding. He said he and his wife had just bought groceries and were leaving when Lathrop blocked them with his body and a shopping cart. Lathrop accused them of shoplifting and asked them to show their receipt to store employees.
The victim and his wife said they weren’t stealing and wanted to leave. A fight ensued and Lathrop pulled out his gun and shot the victim in the neck, the victim said.
A witness told officers Lathrop and the victim had left the store and that the victim was punching Lathrop in the head and “clearly winning the fight.” The victim had stepped back from the fight or was pushed off. Then Lathrop fired two or three shots.
Surveillance video showed the victim punching Lathrop in the face several times before the altercation moved outside and out of the camera’s view. The victim was seen running into the store after being shot.
Mistaken identity
A store manager and an employee told police that they had been talking about a shoplifter who had been in the store but left before the shooting. This may have been overheard and misunderstood by Lathrop, whom the manager described as a regular customer. Based on this information, it appeared to the officer that Lathrop tried to stop the shoplifter but got the wrong person.
The victim was taken to the hospital and treated for a superficial gunshot wound.
Lathrop told officers that he had been shopping and paid for his merchandise. He said he was a “night drinker” and most cashiers know him through his nightly alcohol purchases. While talking to the cashier he learned that the store had been the victim of a recent theft, but the cashier didn’t identify any suspects.
Lathrop said as he was leaving he saw the victim and his wife “loitering” near the door and he “politely educated” them about the recent shoplifting incident. He said he “politely requested” that they return to the cashier and confirm they had paid for their groceries.
Lathrop said that without provocation, the victim hit him several times as the fight spilled into the parking lot. He said he pulled his gun and shot him once because he thought the victim was “beating him to death.”
Lathrop refused medical attention and suffered only marks, bumps and bruises, according to the in-custody report.
Previous incident for same suspect
Lathrop had been involved in a similar incident in April 2021. While returning from a pizza delivery in Tacoma, he heard commotion and went to investigate.
He saw several people outside telling a man to leave, so he told him to go, according to court documents. The man taunted him, shoved him and wanted to fight him, so Lathrop drew his gun and warned him not to come near or he would use it.
After the other man instead raised his fists, Lathrop concluded that his only defense was shoot him. The man reportedly was shot in the chest and was treated at the hospital, but declined to cooperate with police.