12-year-old found dead at Tacoma senior living complex under investigation

Tacoma, Wash.—A 12-year-old boy was found unresponsive Friday afternoon at the Vintage at Tacoma, a senior living community reserved for residents 55 and older, and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The victim was identified by authorities as Preston James Hemingway-Lux, a Tacoma resident.

Tacoma Police Department officers and Tacoma Fire Department personnel responded to the 4000 block of South Lawrence Street. In a statement posted on the department’s social media page, officials said that "On September 19, 2025, just after 3pm, officers were dispatched to the 4000 block of South Lawrence Street for a report of an unresponsive 12-year-old male. Officers arrived on scene along with Tacoma Fire Department personnel. A short time later, the child was pronounced deceased by fire personnel." The cause of death was not immediately released, and detectives opened a suspicious death investigation.

Investigators have not disclosed the cause of death, and the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office is handling an autopsy to determine the cause. Police have described the investigation as ongoing, with detectives and crime scene technicians on site for hours while they collected evidence at the quiet, 55-plus community.

Neighbors told KOMO News they were shaken by the scene. One longtime resident described seeing multiple police cars and emergency responders. "There were nine police cars," the neighbor said. "I cried. I thought it was the saddest thing I ever heard, someone who hadn't even started his life, and what was he doing here?"

Social media posts amplified rumors about the incident, though authorities have not confirmed such details. A widely circulated post on a local scanner feed claimed a caller found a 12-year-old "bleeding from the mouth and nose and nonresponsive," with dispatch coded as a "signal 3" for an unnatural death. The post was not verified by police, and Preston’s sister Tiara Woodruff posted on the family’s GoFundMe page that the online claims were wrong and hurtful, writing, "Why would you guys post this!!?! This is my little brother wtf."

Two days after Preston’s death, on Sunday, Tacoma police were called to a double shooting less than a mile away on Warner Street. Officers found two victims; one was pronounced dead at the scene. An adult male has since been taken into custody on suspicion of murder and assault. Police said the shooting and Preston’s death have not been linked, but residents at the Lawrence Street facility described a sense of fear in the aftermath of back-to-back tragedies.

"It’s like do we keep our doors and windows shut, stay indoors, or what?" one neighbor asked, reflecting the unease among residents at the retirement community.

For Preston’s family, the focus remains on answers. A GoFundMe launched by his sister described him as "the perfect son, brother, and friend" with a bright future ahead, and family members have said the shock is overwhelming while they await an official determination of the cause of death from the medical examiner.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Tacoma Police for comment on the investigation.