Former NBA star Shawn Kemp Booked On DriveBy Charges

Former NBA star Shawn Kemp was detained this week in Tacoma, Washington, and charged with a drive-by shooting. The confusing tale has many wondering what exactly happened with witness accounts conflicting with the charges and personal account from someone close to Kemp. Let’s take a look at this story and make some sense of it.

BREAKING: Sources close to SuperSonics legend Shawn Kemp tell me he had property stolen from his car yesterday, tracked his iPhone to Tacoma today and when he approached the vehicle, a suspect shot at him. He fired back in self-defense. https://t.co/rgJy64Xoyg @fox13seattle

— David Rose (@DavidRoseFOX13) March 9, 2023

Shawn Kemp played in the NBA for 14 years. He had a very successful career playing for the Seatle SuperSonics before retiring in 2003. Kemp has run into some legal issues over the years. In 2006 he was arrested for illegal possession of drugs and weapons. He and a friend were taken in together, and later that year, he was arrested again in Texas, this time alone.

Since then, Mr. Kemp has been mostly off the radar until this latest story. Shawn reportedly got into an argument with someone in another vehicle and opened fire on the man. Kemp then allegedly jumped back into his car and sped off before being stopped and arrested. While the police reported the incident as a drive-by shooting, sources close to Kemp say this is not what happened.

According to friends of Kemp, someone broke into his vehicle and stole his phone. Kemp tracked the iPhone down to Tacoma and approached the man’s car to reclaim his stolen property. When the man saw him, he reportedly shot at Kemp. Kemp shot back in self-defense. People were upset at the initial police report that showed only Kemp getting booked and charged for the wrong thing.

“Get the full story before saying he did a drive-by 🤦🏽‍♂️,” said one person. Another said, “So how is it a drive-by?” Many felt the charge was racially motivated and said, “I believe it. THEY WANTED THIS TO BE A HEADLINE SOO BAD. Everybody want the black community to look bad INCLUDING BLACK PEOPLE ‼️‼️” Those who saw the video of Kemp clearly standing outside of his car wonder how police could mistake this for a drive-by shooter.

Many wonder why Kemp did not alert the authorities when he tracked the phone instead of going after the man himself.