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Murdered for being white? Roadside stabbing of combat veteran celebrating discharge from Army after black attackers yelled slur could be a hate crime, cops say
HATE CRIME? Black attackers slur white soldier before fatal stabbing: cops
Army Spc. Tevin Geike celebrated the end of his service the night of the attack. Fellow soldiers told Lakewood cops black men in a car yelled 'cracker' at them as the combat vets walked home to Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
A white soldier stabbed to death in Washington might have been the target of a hate crime.
Black men in a car yelled “cracker” repeatedly at 20-year-old Tevin Geike and two friends early Saturday morning in Lakewood as the soldiers walked along a sidewalk, friends told police.
Soldier Matthew Barnes told KIRO TV he yelled back:
“So this is how we treat combat veterans now?”
The car turned around. Five men hopped out and surrounded the three soldiers. The two groups argued, police said, but the driver called it off when he learned the soldiers were combat vets.
They headed back to the car, but one man “appeared to bump” Geike, police said.
Geike collapsed to the pavement bleeding. He’d been stabbed in the heart.
Barnes held his friend in his arms as the men sped away in a dark blue sedan, possibly a BMW or Volkswagen Jetta.
“I’m sitting here holding him, trying to stop the bleeding with my right hand and calling 911 with my left, screaming at them and trying to get them here,” Barnes said. “Right before I got off the phone, I couldn’t feel a heartbeat anymore, and he was gone.”
Lakewood police Lt. Chris Lawler said they’re still looking for the suspects.
"We are exploring the possibility that this could be a hate crime or racially motivated," Lawler said. "We won't know exactly what the motive is until we interview the suspects.”
Geike, originally from South Carolina, joined the Army in 2010 and was stationed in 2011 at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord, south of Tacoma. He was trained as an aviation operations specialist.
Geike had celebrated his impending discharge from the Army earlier in the night at the Biltmore Motel, friends said.
“I don’t understand how someone can do this,” friend Glenn Zimmerman told KOMO News. “That man — he almost gave his life for people to enjoy the freedoms they have and he was stabbed for no (expletive) reason,” Zimmerman said.
As news of the attack spread to party goers, Zimmerman raced to his friend’s side. He said Geike was already dead.
“What was it all over — just because they were some white boys?” Zimmerman said.
Police promised to catch the killer.
“He’s going to get caught,” Lawler said. “Nobody’s going to give up until we catch up.”
HATE CRIME? Black attackers slur white soldier before fatal stabbing: cops
Army Spc. Tevin Geike celebrated the end of his service the night of the attack. Fellow soldiers told Lakewood cops black men in a car yelled 'cracker' at them as the combat vets walked home to Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
A white soldier stabbed to death in Washington might have been the target of a hate crime.
Black men in a car yelled “cracker” repeatedly at 20-year-old Tevin Geike and two friends early Saturday morning in Lakewood as the soldiers walked along a sidewalk, friends told police.
Soldier Matthew Barnes told KIRO TV he yelled back:
“So this is how we treat combat veterans now?”
The car turned around. Five men hopped out and surrounded the three soldiers. The two groups argued, police said, but the driver called it off when he learned the soldiers were combat vets.
They headed back to the car, but one man “appeared to bump” Geike, police said.
Geike collapsed to the pavement bleeding. He’d been stabbed in the heart.
Barnes held his friend in his arms as the men sped away in a dark blue sedan, possibly a BMW or Volkswagen Jetta.
“I’m sitting here holding him, trying to stop the bleeding with my right hand and calling 911 with my left, screaming at them and trying to get them here,” Barnes said. “Right before I got off the phone, I couldn’t feel a heartbeat anymore, and he was gone.”
Lakewood police Lt. Chris Lawler said they’re still looking for the suspects.
"We are exploring the possibility that this could be a hate crime or racially motivated," Lawler said. "We won't know exactly what the motive is until we interview the suspects.”
Geike, originally from South Carolina, joined the Army in 2010 and was stationed in 2011 at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord, south of Tacoma. He was trained as an aviation operations specialist.
Geike had celebrated his impending discharge from the Army earlier in the night at the Biltmore Motel, friends said.
“I don’t understand how someone can do this,” friend Glenn Zimmerman told KOMO News. “That man — he almost gave his life for people to enjoy the freedoms they have and he was stabbed for no (expletive) reason,” Zimmerman said.
As news of the attack spread to party goers, Zimmerman raced to his friend’s side. He said Geike was already dead.
“What was it all over — just because they were some white boys?” Zimmerman said.
Police promised to catch the killer.
“He’s going to get caught,” Lawler said. “Nobody’s going to give up until we catch up.”
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