Ring video showed the man following a 16-year-old exchange student before the attack.
TACOMA, WA — Tacoma police are investigating after a 16-year-old girl was followed and assaulted Thursday evening while walking home from tennis practice in the Browns Point area, authorities and neighbors said.
The case has put a tight-knit Tacoma neighborhood on edge as police review surveillance video and look for the man shown trailing the teen before the attack. Police are treating the report as an indecent liberties case, which involves nonconsensual sexual contact. The girl, an international exchange student, was shaken but physically unharmed, according to her host family.
The assault happened around 8 p.m. Thursday as the teen walked back from playing tennis at Browns Point Elementary. A nearby resident, Cameron Morgan, shared Ring doorbell video that showed a man following the student shortly before the encounter. The girl’s host family said the man approached her from behind and shoved his face and hands into her backside. The teen was using Snapchat at the time and began screaming. On the doorbell audio, the man can be heard saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” before running away.
The host father said the teen had already sensed that something was wrong before the man came up behind her. “She was trying to act like she was on some type of video call,” he said. “She kind of felt scared like something creepy was happening.” The video has become a key piece of evidence because it shows the man behind the girl before the attack. Police have not released the man’s name, and no arrest had been announced as of Monday. It was not immediately clear whether investigators had identified a suspect.
After the host family shared details of the assault in a neighborhood Facebook group, other residents reported similar encounters in the area. Those claims had not been publicly confirmed by police, but they added to concern among neighbors who said the attack felt especially bold because it happened in daylight. Morgan said the footage disturbed people who live nearby. “Having a predator walking around like that gets everybody on edge, and we want to make sure that he’s found,” Morgan said.
The Browns Point area sits in northeast Tacoma, near schools, parks and residential streets where neighbors said many people walk during the early evening. The timing of the assault, shortly after the teen left a school campus where she had been playing tennis, has made the case stand out for families in the area. Police have not said whether the girl knew the man, whether he spoke to her before the assault or how long he followed her. Investigators also have not said whether the case is connected to any earlier reports.
Tacoma police said the investigation remains active. The next steps are expected to include reviewing video, comparing the man’s image with other reports and speaking with people who may have seen him in the area Thursday evening. The case had not moved into court as of Monday because no suspect had been publicly named and no charges had been announced. The host family said the teen was physically OK, but the encounter left her frightened.
The host father said the family wants the case solved, but he also tried to reassure neighbors as police work through the investigation. “I really want people not to worry because I know we’re going to find him,” he said. For now, residents are relying on shared video, neighborhood accounts and the police investigation to understand what happened on a street where many had not expected such an attack.
As of Monday, May 11, Tacoma police were still searching for the man shown in the surveillance footage. No arrest or court date had been announced.
Author note: Last updated Monday, May 11, 2026.