This is the face of 17-year-old Samnang Kok, the young father and Foss High School junior who was slain by a fellow student yesterday.
Police officers later arrested another Foss junior, Douglas S. Chanthabouly, and booked him into the Pierce County Jail for investigation of first-degree murder. The News Tribune reports he is expected to make an appearance in Superior Court today. Chanthabouly was on suicide watch at the jail Wednesday night, said Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer.
The motive for the murder is unknown, but rumors include a disagreement over money or revenge by Chanthabouly for a slight against his younger brother.
The News Tribune reports:
The shooting occurred about 7:25 a.m. in what is known as the “300 hallway,” a collection of classrooms and lockers at the north end of the school, not far from the library.
Witnesses said Kok was walking through the hall when the shooter approached him, pulled out a handgun and opened fire at close range, perhaps from as little as 5 feet away.
Kok “hit the locker on the side of his head and fell over,” sophomore Malcolm Clark said. “He started shaking and foaming at the mouth.”
Dad spoke to a Tacoma firefighter about the incident. The firefighter called the slaying a "torture death" because Chanthabouly allegedly shot Kok in the buttocks first before shooting him point blank in the head -- causing the victim to feel extreme pain before ending his life.
This tragedy further tarnishes Tacoma's reputation. The last time Tacoma made national headlines was because of the Tacoma Mall shootings last year. Most of the people I work with in Seattle have never been to Tacoma, say they have no reason to go, and say they would truly be afraid to go. Reading this quote from a Foss HS parent -- "My son’s 15 years old and he wants to save up for a bulletproof vest" -- I can't blame them.