October 7, 2013 -- Updated 1513 GMT (2313 HKT)
At least one black assailant fatally stabbed a white U.S. soldier in a
racially charged confrontation over the weekend, not far from the base
where he served, police in Washington state said. FULL STORY
|
HATE CRIME?
Police: Black man kills white soldier in possible hate crime
October 7, 2013 -- Updated 1506 GMT (2306 HKT)
Soldier served abroad, killed at home
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Friend says Spc. Tevin Geike died in his arms after stabbing in Washington
- Friends say they, Geike were to celebrate his pending discharge when they were accosted
- Police: Geike was attacked after man in passing car yelled about soldiers being white
- Stabbing investigated as a possible hate crime, police tell newspaper
Spc. Tevin A. Geike, 20,
of Summerville, South Carolina, died after being stabbed early Saturday
in Lakewood, not far from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, where he was based,
according to base officials.
Police are trying to
determine who killed Geike, who they said was walking with two other
soldiers in Lakewood after 2 a.m. Saturday when someone in a passing car
yelled a comment about the three being white.
One of the soldiers, Brian Johnson, told CNN affiliate KIRO that someone in the car yelled "something like 'white' and 'cracker.' "
The third soldier, Matthew Barnes, told KIRO that he yelled back: "So this is how we treat combat veterans now?"
The vehicle turned around and stopped, and five black men appearing to be in their mid-20s got out, police said.
The groups exchanged
words, and the driver called off his friends when he realized the three
were soldiers, police said. But as the five retreated to the car, one
appeared to bump into Geike, who fell as the five sped away in the car,
Geike's companions told police.
Geike had been stabbed. Barnes said Geike died in his arms.
"I'm sitting here holding
him, trying to stop the bleeding with my right hand and calling 911 in
my left, trying ... to get them here," Barnes told KIRO. "Right before I got off the phone, I couldn't feel a heartbeat anymore, and he was gone."
Investigators are trying to determine whether to classify the stabbing as a hate crime, Lakewood police Lt. Chris Lawler told the News Tribune of Tacoma.
"We're certainly looking
at it now as a potential hate crime. We're not going to say that it is,
but according to two guys at the scene, it appears to be racially
motivated," Lawler told the News Tribune.
Geike, an aviation operations specialist, joined the Army in October 2010 and arrived at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in April 2011.
The three soldiers were on their way to a celebration of Geike's upcoming discharge from the Army, Barnes told KIRO.
By Sunday, friends had
placed flowers, a balloon and a sign on a sidewalk where the stabbing
happened. Barnes said Geike was a good man and a great soldier.
"They were looking for
trouble," Barnes told KIRO of the assailants. "They were looking for
someone to attack. And we just happened to be in the wrong place at the
wrong time."
Police said they're
looking for a midnight blue four-door car, possibly a BMW or a
Volkswagen Jetta, with tinted windows, stock rims and low-profile tires.
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- COPY http://edition.cnn.com/
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