Shooting suspect allegedly had gun at school before

TACOMA — A teenager accused of shooting a fellow student at Foss High School had previously bought and sold firearms and had even brought a gun to school for that reason, according to a search warrant filed this week.

The brother of Douglas Chanthabouly told investigators that he had seen his brother with several weapons before the Wednesday morning shooting of 17-year-old Samnang "Sam" Kok in a school hallway.

A search of the Chanthabouly family home in South Tacoma on Wednesday yielded three boxes of ammunition, a black carry case for a pistol with a holster and a .38-caliber revolver, according to court papers. Police also seized Chanthabouly's notebooks, letters and two blue bandanas.

Chanthabouly's brother reportedly told police in an interview that while his brother was not in a gang, he hung out with some gang members and mimicked their dress.

Chanthabouly, 18, who is charged with first-degree murder and is being held on $1 million bail in the Pierce County Jail, has allegedly admitted the shooting but refused to offer a motive, saying he didn't want it "in the news," according to court documents.

Tacoma police said Friday that investigators think that the conflict between the two teens likely arose over a matter of "respect."

"We're thinking it was a respect issue and that it had something to do with money, or property or something along those lines," said Tacoma Police Department spokesman Mark Fulghum.

Services for shooting victim

The funeral for Samnang "Sam" Kok will be at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday at the South Side Baptist Church, 626 S. 86th St., in Tacoma. It was to be preceded by an 11 a.m. viewing.

Police and prosecutors said Chanthabouly walked up to Kok before the start of school on Wednesday, raised the weapon, said, "What's up?" and shot Kok in the face.

He allegedly shot Kok two more times while he was on the floor.

Chanthabouly was arrested near the school a couple of hours after the shooting with a 9-mm handgun, police said.

That gun, believed to be the murder weapon although ballistics tests have not been completed, was traced by the Seattle office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

It had been stolen from a safe during a 1999 home burglary in Tacoma, police said. The registered owner of the weapon had reported the break-in and the theft but had failed to list that specific weapon's serial number among the items stolen, police said.

"He was quite surprised to find that he hadn't included it," Fulghum said. Police are investigating how the weapon came to be in Chanthabouly's hands, he said.

Tacoma School District officials said they did not know whether Chanthabouly had, in fact, brought a weapon to school on a previous occasion.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com