Tacoma man says he was hit by gunfire on Pierce County highway

TACOMA, Wash. — A Tacoma motorist says he was shot at from another vehicle while driving down a highway in Puyallup in broad daylight on Thursday.

It's the third shooting on a Washington highway in just three days. In the latest incident the victim and his daughter spoke only to KIRO 7 News.

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Kenneth Konikow says he was driving on SR 512 trying to make his way to SR 410 through the WA 167 interchange, he heard the glass shatter in his pickup truck and took the next exit which was Traffic Avenue.

He said it was approximately 3:30PM Thursday when the incident took place on his drive from Tacoma to Bonney Lake. He got ahead of another pickup, and people in that pickup opened fire on him.

"All of a sudden, I heard bang bang bang ... you know like hitting a car, I thought it was rocks at first," Kanikow said.
 
Kenneth's daughter Michelle Konikow said she was angry when she saw her father's truck riddled with impacts from gunfire. 

"I was shocked, honestly. I was infuriated. Had it been a bigger caliber bullet, he could have been killed," Michelle Kanikow said.

Kenneth said the damage to his pickup truck came from the other truck.

"I saw the window down and they were shooting at me," Kenneth said. "He wouldn't let me in. Finally I just went ahead and cut in. Evidently he got made about that."

Michelle Kanikow said the traffic and her father's actions did not deserve a violent outburst on a busy highway. 

"Everybody's stuck in the same traffic that you are so let somebody over," Michelle Kanikow said.

The father and daughter suspect it was a pellet gun or bbs used and that this may have simply been road rage, but they're concerned, and want to spread the word about the danger. 

The Konikows said they reported the incident to police and describe the gunman's vehicle involved as a newer Black Ford truck, four door, possibly diesel, lifted with offroad tires, aftermarket wheels and blacked out windows.

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