Tacoma police were investigating a drive-by shooting late Wednesday on the East Side that slightly injured two women.

Witnesses reported that a gunman fired at a tan minivan as it drove on East 30th Street near Portland Avenue about 11:15 p.m. The gunman then stashed two weapons – an AK-47 and an AR-15 – under a nearby vehicle and got into a newer black BMW, officers reported.

Tacoma police were called to the scene and located eight shell casings and broken glass in the roadway. They also found a rifle case and a duffel bag that contained two rifles, Tacoma …

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Tacoma firefighters are battling a house fire in the 2000 block of East 70th Street.

Several people called 911 about the fire at 10:05 a.m.

“First arriving crews found a fairly established fire on the first floor of two-story house,” Tacoma fire spokesman Joe Meinecke said.

UPDATE: The occupants of the home made it out safely by the time firefighters arrived, Meinecke said. No injuries have been reported.

Firefighters are working to put out the hot spots.

“There’s quite a bit of damage to the house,” Meinecke said.

UPDATE 2: The fire is out. A cause is not yet known. …

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A woman was seriously injured Thursday afternoon when she crashed her motorcycle into the back of a car on 72nd Street East, Tacoma police reported.

The woman was transported to Tacoma General Hospital for treatment. Her injuries were not considered life threatening, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

The woman and a man were each riding motorcycles Thursday afternoon.  Around 4:20 p.m., they pulled out of a parking lot and headed westbound on 72nd Street East, Fulghum said.

The man had slowed for a car in front of him. The woman rode up from behind, passed the man and then hit …

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Tacoma police arrested a woman and were searching for her brother after they allegedly broke into his ex-girlfriend’s East Side Tacoma home Wednesday night.

Officers were called to the home in the 2000 block of East Columbia Avenue shortly after 10:30 p.m. for a possible stabbing or fight at the home, police reported.

Officers learned that a man and his sister broke into the home with a rifle and attacked his ex-girlfriend. The ex-girlfriend ran outside and started screaming, which prompted her neighbors to call 911, police reported.

Because the home is tribal property, Puyallup Tribal police also responded. Officers …

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A malfunctioning florescent light sparked a fire early today inside a detached garage on Tacoma’s East Side.

Tacoma firefighters were called to the fire in the 4500 block of East E Street just after midnight, the department reported on its blog.

Crews found heavy smoke and flames coming from the 720-square foot, detached garage.  Firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings.

No injuries were reported.

Investigators determined that “electrical arching from a malfunctioning florescent light” ignited the blaze. It caused about $105,000 in damage to the building and its contents.

UPDATE: Police say a man shot and killed a burglar who broke into his East Side Tacoma house today.

The man was home alone about 1:30 p.m. when he heard somebody at the door and then saw three people go around to the back door.

When the man realized the burglars had broken into the home in the 3800 block of East J Street, he locked himself in an upstairs bedroom.

“At least one of the suspects went upstairs and when he got to the bedroom door, the resident opened fire through the door, striking the suspect several times,” police …

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UPDATE as of 8:40 a.m.: Investigators determined the fire was caused by unattended smoking materials that caught the sofa on fire.

The fire caused $60,000 damage to the house and its contents.

ORIGINAL POST: Tacoma firefighters are investigating what sparked a fire early today that damaged an East Side home.

Crews were called to the home in the 1600 block of East Wright Avenue just after 2:45 a.m., the Tacoma Fire Department reported.

They found flames coming from the front of the small house. They doused the blaze and vented the roof.

The two occupants got out of the …

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Tacoma firefighters doused flames at an East Side home early this morning.

The fire was first reported just after 1:50 a.m. at a home in the 1000 block of East 62nd Street, Tacoma fire spokesman Joe Meinecke said.

All five occupants of the home had escaped by the time fire crews arrived.

Firefighters found smoke and flames coming from the back of the house and attacked the fire.

The fire appears to have started in a back bedroom. An overheated extension cord sparked the blaze, which caused $25,000 damage to the house and its contents.

No injuries were reported.