31st Tacoma Homicide of 2021
Thiy Conway
It was around 9:30pm six days before Christmas 2021 when police received a call of shots fired in the 9100 block of South Alaska Street. When police arrived they found 14-year-old Thiy Conway with a gunshot wound to the chest. They began CPR until paramedics arrived. He was then taken to the hospital where he later died becoming Tacoma’s 31st homicide of 2021.
I wasn’t able to find out much about Thiy or his murder. This is an increasing problem. As the homicide rate in Tacoma increases, so does the lack of news coverage.
Thiy went by ‘Ty’ to his friends. He had a habit of smiling a lot. He attended the Chief Leschi School and had an outgoing personality. Thiy was just beginning to become an adult. We’ll never get to see who he could have been thanks to the thoughtless actions of someone with a gun.
Unfortunately, Thiy Conway manner of death is actually the leading cause of death for children his age in the United States. More common than drugs, drowning, or car accidents, children under the age of 18 are most likely to die from gunshot wound.
It’s difficult not to be outraged at the level of senseless violence our children have to endure these days. It’s difficult not to think about how children like Thiy can be saved. How many of his friends and relatives will forever have a hole in their lives because Thiy is gone?
As always the comment section is reserved for those who knew Thiy and want to share thoughts or memories of him.
- Jack Cameron