9th Tacoma Homicide of 2021: Tuuaipea Masaniai
On April 22, 2021 Tuuaipea Masaniai was shot in the chest in the 2300 block of 96th Street at around 6:30pm. The 28-year-old man who shot him called for paramedics, but Tuuaipea died at the scene becoming Tacoma’s ninth homicide of 2021.
The details of what led up to the shooting have not been released and there has been almost no media coverage of this homicide. I contacted prosecutors who informed me that they declined to charge the man responsible for Tuuaipea’s death as they determined he was shot in self-defense.
I was unable to find out much information about Tuuaipea. I do my best to write these articles with the victim in mind and to show who they were as a person, but I am limited in that I only have the time and resources to explore what I can find online. In this case, I didn’t find a large online presence from or about Tuuaipea. When this happens I have to rely on those who knew the person to fill out who they were. This is why the comments section is always reserved for those who knew the victim of the homicide. They can provide detail that I’m unable to give.
If you knew Tuuaipea Masaniai, please comment below or email me at jackcameronis@gmail.com with details of his life you’d like me to include in an updated version of this article.
Jack Cameron