Former NBA star Shawn Kemp pleads guilty to Seattle area mall shooting
Shawn Kemp, who spent the majority of his NBA career with the Seattle SuperSonics, entered a guilty plea in the 2023 shooting outside the Tacoma Mall in Washington state.
The Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney's Office confirmed that Kemp admitted to second-degree assault in the incident. The six-time NBA All-Star initially faced charges for first-degree assault with a firearm. Prosecutors later tacked on a second count of first-degree assault and a charge of drive-by shooting.
If he had been convicted on the original charges, the 55-year-old could have been up against a considerably longer prison sentence. Tacoma police received a call stating shots were fired from a passerby's vehicle in the parking lot of the Tacoma Mall, FOX 13 reported in March 2023.
The former NBA center reportedly claimed property was stolen from his car and he tracked his iPhone to the Tacoma Mall.
A source close to Kemp said when the retired NBA player approached the vehicle, a suspect shot at him, and he fired back in self-defense. Police said nobody was injured in the shooting.
Two individuals inside the car remain in police custody on unrelated charges.
Video of the incident was shared on social media. Some of the video footage appeared to contradict Kemp's account of the events in question.
Kemp still faces the possibility of prison time. A second-degree assault in Washington carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 22.
Kemp played in the NBA from 1989 to 2003. He was a first-round pick of the SuperSonics and played for the team until the 1996-97 season. Seattle played the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in the 1996 NBA Finals and lost in six games.
Kemp later played with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers and Orlando Magic. He finished his career with a 14.6 points per game average along with 8.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists.
Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
16 minutes ago
- Fox News
WATCH LIVE: President Trump meets with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at White House
All times eastern Making Money with Charles Payne FOX News Radio Live Channel Coverage WATCH LIVE: Will Cain reacts to political news of the day with Tim Pool
Washington Post
16 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Prince George's teachers union votes no confidence in superintendent
The Prince George's County teachers union issued a vote of no confidence Wednesday in schools Superintendent Millard House II, citing concerns that his leadership has caused 'widespread dysfunction' across Maryland's second-largest school system. About 80 percent of voting members supported the action, the union said, which was conducted via a virtual vote. The vote came as the union is bargaining over its latest contract with the school system. Its current agreement expires June 30.
Fast Company
16 minutes ago
- Fast Company
Luigi Mangione's alleged diary entries reveal UnitedHealthcare CEO ‘had it coming'
Six weeks before UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel in December, suspect Luigi Mangione mused about rebelling against 'the deadly, greed fueled health insurance cartel' and said killing the executive 'conveys a greedy bastard that had it coming,' prosecutors revealed Wednesday. The Manhattan district attorney's office quoted extensively from Mangione's handwritten diary — highlighting his desire to kill an insurance honcho and praise for Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber — as they fight to uphold his state murder charges. They also cited a confession they say he penned 'To the feds,' in which he wrote that 'it had to be done.' Mangione's lawyers want the state case thrown out, arguing in court papers that those charges and a parallel federal death penalty case amount to double jeopardy. They also want state terrorism charges dismissed, have asked for the federal case to go first and say prosecutors should be barred from using evidence collected during Mangione's arrest, including a 9mm handgun, statements to police and the diary. Manhattan prosecutors contend that there are no double jeopardy issues because neither case has gone to trial and because the state and federal prosecutions involve different legal theories. His lawyers say that has created a 'legal quagmire' that makes it 'legally and logistically impossible to defend against them simultaneously.' The state charges, which carry a maximum of life in prison, allege that Mangione wanted to 'intimidate or coerce a civilian population,' that is, insurance employees and investors. The federal charges allege that Mangione stalked an individual, Thompson, and do not involve terror allegations. Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty in both cases. No trial dates have been set. Mangione's 'intentions were obvious from his acts, but his writings serve to make those intentions explicit,' prosecutors said in Wednesday's filing. The writings, which they sometimes described as a manifesto, 'convey one clear message: that the murder of Brian Thompson was intended to bring about revolutionary change to the healthcare industry.' They quoted excerpts in which Mangione discussed options for the attack, such as bombing UnitedHealthcare's headquarters, before deciding to target the company's investor conference in Manhattan. He wrote about plans to 'wack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention' because it was 'targeted, precise and doesn't risk innocents.' UnitedHealthcare, the largest U.S. health insurer, 'literally extracts human life force for money,' Mangione wrote, envisioning the news headline, 'Insurance CEO killed at annual investors conference.' The company has said he was never a client. Mangione is due back in state court June 26, when Judge Gregory Carro is expected to rule on his request for dismissal. His lawyers asked Tuesday for his handcuffs and bulletproof vest to be removed during the hearing. They called him a 'a model prisoner, a model defendant' and said the security measures would suggest to potential jurors that he is dangerous. Carro has not ruled on that. Mangione's next federal court date is Dec. 5, a day after the one-year anniversary of Thompson's death. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind as he arrived for the conference Dec. 4 at the New York Hilton Midtown. Police say 'delay,' 'deny' and 'depose' were scrawled on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase commonly used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims. Mangione was arrested Dec. 9 at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) to the west, and he is being held in a federal jail in Brooklyn. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has called the ambush 'a killing that was intended to evoke terror.' U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in April that she was directing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for 'an act of political violence' and a 'premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.' The killing and ensuing search for Mangione rattled the business community while galvanizing health insurance critics who rallied around him as a stand-in for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty bills. Supporters have flocked to his court appearances and flooded him with mail. Mangione 'demonstrated in his manifesto that he was a revolutionary anarchist who would usher in a better healthcare system by killing the CEO' of one of the biggest U.S. companies, prosecutors wrote. 'This brutal, cowardly murder was the mechanism that defendant chose to bring on that revolution.'
