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Former NBA star Shawn Kemp was arrested and booked into a jail in Washington state on Wednesday on a felony drive-by shooting charge.
Officers responded to reports of shots fired in an altercation between the occupants of two vehicles in Tacoma just before 2 p.m. local time (5 p.m. ET) the Tacoma Police Department said in a statement.
One of the drivers had fired several rounds at the occupants of the other vehicle before the “victim vehicle” fled the area, police said.
They said the suspect, who they identified only as a 53-year-old, was taken into custody without incident and booked into a local jail. A firearm was recovered from the scene, they said.
A suspect named Shawn Travis Kemp was booked into a Pierce County jail just before 6 p.m. local time (9 p.m. ET) on a felony drive-by shooting charge, county records showed. NBC affiliate KING-TV, which is based in Seattle, identified the suspect as the six-time NBA All-Star, citing the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately respond to an overnight request for comment. A spokesperson for the Tacoma Police Department declined to provide more information on the arrest.
Records suggest there is only one resident with the name Shawn Travis Kemp, age 53, in the United States.
In videos appearing to capture parts of the altercation, a man in a red vest jacket can be seen at one point appearing to argue with another person. As the other person begins to pull away in their vehicle, the person in the red vest jacket begins to point at them as sirens sound.
In another video, the person in the red vest jacket can be seen appearing to raise their arm before what sounds like a gunshot rings out.
Kemp is a former star player for the Seattle SuperSonics, now the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was drafted with the No. 17 overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft by the team and went on to play 14 seasons in the league. Kemp also played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers and Orlando Magic.
Kemp was previously arrested twice in the early 2000s on drug charges, including marijuana possession, according to The Associated Press.
The former NBA star now operates at least one cannabis shop in Seattle.
Drive-by shooting is listed as a class B felony under Washington law. Kemp could face up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $20,000 if convicted.
Phil Helsel and Claudia Johnson contributed.
