12th Tacoma Homicide of 2011 - Terrance Sand

On Friday night around 8pm, someone living near South 34th & Madison heard a gunshot. Looking out the window, they saw a man on the ground and two men standing over him. The two men walked away, leaving Terrance Sand dead from a single gunshot wound.

Terrance Sand was 42 years old. He'd been living in a boarded up house near where he died. So far there has been very little reported about this shooting. There is currently no description of the two men and their whereabouts are unknown.

A more jaded person might think that the lack of information and the fact that suspects haven't been caught has something to do with the fact that Terrance Sand was essentially homeless. The truth is that these sort of homicides are among the most difficult to solve. People without homes often have little to no contact with family. Friends tend to no have fixed addresses or other means of contact. Jobs tend to be sporadic. Living off the grid whether by choice or circumstance makes you fairly anonymous.

This killing reminds me of the May 2007 murder of Steven Chennells. Chennells had been found under an overpass and had been homeless for some time.

I'm hoping that more information will come to light in the coming days and weeks. I will update this post when appropriate.

UPDATE: Police have arrested a 28-year-old man in connection with Terrance Sand's murder. Charging documents indicate that Terrance knocked on a neighbor's door and was asked to leave. Directly afterward, the suspect, who had been staying at that house, approached him and a fight broke out. Witness statements say the suspect punched Terrance repeatedly and then shot him once, killing him.

If you happened to be someone who knew Terrance Sand and you'd like to talk about what sort of person he was or memories you have of him, please feel free to leave a comment.

One note, I moderate all comments so they will only appear after I have approved them. This is to stop any threats or hate-speak.

-Jack Cameron