Teenager Shot To Death During Confrontation

An 18-year-old youth was shot to death Monday after he threatened a man with what appeared to be a handgun, Pierce County Sheriff officers said.

The county Medical Examiner’s Office identified the teen as Juston Buller of Graham. An autopsy was pending.

Buller and three other friends had stolen some beer from a tavern and had climbed a 150-foot radio tower in a parking lot in Orting as part of an “end of summer party,” said sheriff’s Deputy Ed Troyer.

As the they were leaving around 4 a.m., a car with two men in their 20s pulled up into the lot and the teens started “mouthing off to them,” Troyer said.

“The victim drove by in his car, holding his gun to his chest, like he was showing it off. He got out of the car and pointed the gun towards the men,” Troyer said.

Troyer said one of the men was armed and shot Buller “multiple times,” apparently in self-defense.

“He told me he thought, ‘It’s either him or me and it’s not going to be me,”’ Troyer said. No one else was injured.

Buller’s friends ran away after the shooting. The men called 911 and tried to treat Buller’s wounds. When they kicked Buller’s gun away, they discovered it was a BB gun, Troyer said.

The men were questioned and released. Troyer said the case will be turned over to the county prosecutor’s office, which will decide whether to file charges later this week.

”(Buller’s) friends said he liked showing off the gun to look tough,” Troyer said. “He lost his life to a little stunt.”