FORKS — An altercation at an early-morning house party in Forks led to a 17-year-old boy shooting and killing a 19-year-old man who lived in the house, officials said Sunday.
The victim was identified as Tristen LeeShawn James Pisani, who lived in the home where he was shot with a handgun, said Clallam County Sheriff’s Chief Criminal Deputy Brian King.
The suspect, detained for investigation of first-degree murder, will not be identified until he appears in Clallam County Superior Court on Monday, King said.
“We will not be able to identify the suspect today,” King said Sunday.
When Forks police officers arrived to the 1300 block of Big Burn Place shortly after 5:30 a.m. Sunday, two witnesses had “detained” the juvenile and he was arrested without incident.
He was transported to the Forks Community Hospital with minor injuries and then placed into the custody of law enforcement.
“We know there has been some parties going on here,” King said. “It hasn’t been like we’re coming out here every weekend, but there has been prior reports of underage drinking.”
Crime scene tape surrounds a house on the 1300 block of Big Burn Place in Forks where investigators said a 17-year-old boy shot and killed a 19-year-old man after an early-morning party Sunday. (Jesse Major/Peninsula Daily News)
King said the shooting apparently happened after the juvenile and Pisani got into an argument during the party.
The shooter left and returned — after the party had ended — and shot and killed Pisani inside his home, King said.
Now, investigators are working to piece together what happened at the party. It wasn’t clear Sunday how many people were there and what the altercation was about, King said.
“Right now everybody is still being interviewed,” King said. “At the time of the shooting we believe there was only two witnesses here, the suspect and the victim.”
Clallam County Sheriff’s detectives on scene Sunday were being assisted by the Port Angeles, Forks and La Push police departments.
He said investigators are “working backward to figure out” what happened at the party.
“We don’t know yet how the suspect got here and we don’t know the origin of the handgun,” King said. “It will certainly be important to learn where the gun came from.”
Investigators from the State Patol crime lab walk into a house on the 1300 block of Big Burn Place in Forks where a 19-year-old man was shot and killed early Sunday morning. (Jesse Major/Peninsula Daily News)
The suspect will appear in Clallam County Superior Court on Monday at 1 p.m. for a bail hearing.
Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols said there is a “possibility” that charges could be filed, though charges are commonly filed within 72 hours.
Nichols said it is likely the juvenile will be charged as an adult.
“Based on what we understand at this point in time, that’s the direction this case is developing,” Nichols said.
Nichols, who is also the county coroner, said an autopsy will be conducted in the coming days.
It was not clear Sunday how many times Pisani was shot, or where. The scene had been mostly untouched until Sunday evening to allow investigators from the State Patrol crime lab time to arrive.
“At this point we’ve just taken a very preliminary look at the scene,” Nichols said. “We’re really allowing the crime scene response team to do its work in forensically analyzing the scene. It’s only when they get to the point that they’ve documented everything that we’ll come into a fuller understanding of how many shots were fired and where the impact occurred.”
Pisani’s body was expected to be taken to Harper-Ridgeview Funeral Chapel in Port Angeles late Sunday, Nichols said.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at [email protected].
Law enforcement gathers at a house on the 1300 block of Big Burn Place in Forks after police said a 19-year-old man was shot and killed early Sunday morning. (Christi Baron/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
