Martice Ryan already faces murder and assault charges in the 2025 shooting that killed 18-year-old Jaedyn Williams.
TACOMA, WA — Prosecutors have filed a new machine-gun possession charge against a man accused of fatally shooting an 18-year-old inside the waiting room of MultiCare Allenmore Hospital’s emergency department.
Martice Lawon Ryan, 26, appeared Thursday in Pierce County Superior Court, where the additional charge was filed after investigators reviewed hospital surveillance footage from the Aug. 6, 2025, shooting. Ryan was already charged with first-degree murder and first-degree assault in the death of Jaedyn Williams and the wounding of Williams’ girlfriend.
The new charge alleges Ryan possessed a machine gun during the attack. Investigators have said the weapon may have been fitted with a device commonly called a switch, which can convert a semiautomatic handgun to fire automatically. Prosecutors have not said publicly that the gun used in the shooting has been recovered.
Ryan remains jailed without bail. The charges are allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless proved guilty in court. He previously pleaded not guilty to the murder and assault charges filed after his arrest in August 2025.
Williams, a University Place resident, went to Allenmore Hospital with his girlfriend because he was experiencing elbow pain, according to charging documents. The couple checked into the emergency department and sat in the waiting area shortly before the shooting.
Investigators said surveillance video showed Ryan arriving in a red Mazda sport utility vehicle and entering the hospital as Williams and his girlfriend checked in. The woman told police she and Williams did not know Ryan and had not interacted with him before reaching the hospital.
According to the documents, Ryan approached the couple and accused Williams of staring at him. Williams denied staring and said he did not know Ryan. Prosecutors allege Ryan then made a comment referring to a switch, pulled a handgun from his clothing and fired several rounds.
Williams was struck multiple times and died at the hospital. The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled that he died from a gunshot wound and classified his death as a homicide. His girlfriend suffered a gunshot graze wound to her abdomen and survived.
The shooter left the emergency room before officers arrived. Hospital surveillance footage showed a man running to a red Mazda that did not display standard license plates, according to court records. Detectives reviewed vehicle sales information and earlier police video as they worked to identify Ryan as a suspect.
Charging documents said Ryan had purchased a similar Mazda several months before the shooting. Detectives also learned that several firearms were registered to him, including two handguns matching the caliber of cartridge cases recovered from the hospital.
A warrant was issued after police could not locate Ryan at his last known address. He was arrested Aug. 8, 2025, in Kittitas County following a search involving Tacoma police, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and other agencies. He was later transferred to the Pierce County Jail.
At Ryan’s initial court appearance, prosecutors argued that he posed a danger to the community and presented a flight risk. A court commissioner ordered him held without bail. The latest filing adds the firearm allegation to a case that remains pending in Pierce County Superior Court.
Authorities have not announced a motive beyond the brief confrontation described by the surviving witness. No trial result has been reached, and the court had not publicly resolved the murder, assault or machine-gun possession charges as of Sunday.
Author note: Last updated July 26, 2026.