Pacific mourns man shot at church event

Scores of Pacific residents held a vigil all day Saturday and into the night at Pacific City Hall to mourn a young man who was fatally shot Friday night at a church-sponsored youth event.

"The entire town is devastated," Mayor Rich Hildreth said after Shiloh Drott, 21, was killed during the monthly "Late Night" event at the city-owned community center next to City Hall.

Drott was in a multipurpose room when a man standing outside fired eight or nine rounds from a handgun through a closed window, police reported. Drott died at the scene.

Hildreth said Drott was "very well-respected and very well-known."

About ten people who were in the room told the mayor that Drott likely saved the lives of some children as the bullets flew.

"He was witnessed by numerous people, he pushed some kids out of the way so they wouldn't get hit," Hildreth said.

He said that Drott, a lifelong Pacific resident and basketball enthusiast, "was one of those kids that wasn't into drugs, wasn't into the problems that many of the kids his age are."

"We used to have the open gym after school. Many times he would come in and he'd be teaching 7-, 8- and 9-year-olds how to play basketball, how to shoot. He was one of those mentors and role models for other kids."

Three men, including the suspected shooter, were arrested at a nearby house Friday night and booked into King County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder.

Police Lt. Edwin Massey said one of the men drove the getaway vehicle. The other is believed to have walked with the shooter to the spot where the shooter fired the gun and then back to the car, Hildreth said.

They have not been charged with a crime and were not identified by police.

Hildreth said about 30 people were in the multipurpose room with Drott at the time of the shooting, which was reported to medics and police at 8:55 p.m. Other young people were playing basketball in an adjoining gym.

The people with Drott recognized the shooter, Massey said. He said the incident "seemed to involve two different groups of boys" but wasn't necessarily a gang rivalry.

Pacific, a city of about 6,000, straddles the King-Pierce county line.

Pacific police, with help from the Auburn Police Department, the 14-member Coalition of Small Police Agencies and the King County Sheriff's Office, arrested the suspects after serving a search warrant at a house in the 500 block of Valentine Avenue a few blocks from the scene.

As many as 200 people came to a vigil Saturday evening, and prayed together at times, Hildreth said.

Chaplains were at City Hall on Saturday, and at least one will arrive by 7:30 a.m. today, he said. From 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. today, at least 10 chaplains from local emergency agencies and the International Fellowship of Chaplains will be there.

"There's a lot of fear, a lot of problems with post-traumatic stress that people are going to be facing. We want to make sure people understand the dangers and look out for themselves," said Hildreth. Symptoms include loss of sleep, low appetite, uncontrollable fear and rage, he said.

A candlelight vigil was to be held again tonight in front of City Hall.

Hildreth said the city and Sumner-based Valley Bible Church have held the monthly "Late Night" event since 2004 as a partnership so teens and young adults can play basketball, eat pizza and socialize in a safe environment.

Two community groups recently received funding to expand "Late Night" to other nights, and the mayor said Drott's death won't stop that effort.

"I think one thing everybody is united in: We're not going to allow this to destroy our community," he said. "We're going to use this to unite our community."

Times reporter Mike Lindblom contributed to this story.

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com