A judge found probable cause for the additional count after prosecutors reviewed surveillance video from the emergency room waiting area.
TACOMA, Wash. — Prosecutors have added a machine gun possession charge against a man accused of killing 18-year-old Jaedyn Williams inside a Tacoma hospital emergency room, citing an analysis of surveillance footage from the August 2025 shooting.
Martice Ryan appeared Thursday in Pierce County Superior Court, where Judge Thomas Quinlan found probable cause for the new charge. Ryan was ordered to remain in custody without bail while awaiting a trial scheduled for November. He already faced charges of first-degree murder and first-degree assault in the shooting at MultiCare Allenmore Hospital.
The charges are allegations, and Ryan is presumed innocent unless proved guilty. He previously pleaded not guilty to the murder and assault counts filed after the Aug. 6 shooting.
Williams had gone to Allenmore Hospital because of pain in his elbow, according to court documents. He was waiting with his girlfriend when Ryan allegedly approached them and accused Williams of staring at him. Williams and his girlfriend did not know Ryan, the girlfriend later told investigators.
The woman said Ryan asked Williams whether he knew him. After Williams said he did not, Ryan allegedly made a statement referring to a “switch,” according to the court documents. Prosecutors said the term described a device capable of converting a semiautomatic handgun into a fully automatic weapon.
Authorities allege Ryan then opened fire in the emergency room waiting area. Williams died, and his girlfriend was injured. She told investigators that the couple had no earlier interaction with Ryan and had not been followed to the hospital.
The machine gun possession count followed a later review of the hospital’s surveillance footage, according to prosecutors. Authorities have not publicly detailed every finding from that analysis or said whether investigators recovered the alleged conversion device.
Ryan was arrested in Kittitas County two days after the shooting. Earlier court documents said investigators used hospital video, vehicle information and records from a previous traffic stop to identify him as a suspect. Police said surveillance footage showed a red Mazda sport utility vehicle leaving the area after the gunfire.
Williams’ family sat in the front row during Thursday’s hearing. His father described the difficulty of being in the same courtroom as the man accused of killing his son and said the family continues to struggle with anger, sadness and unanswered questions.
Relatives remembered Williams as a loving older brother and a hardworking young man. At 18, he was the youngest member of his crew at the Port of Seattle, and family members believed he had a promising future.
Ryan remains held without bail on the murder, assault and machine gun possession charges. His case is scheduled to proceed toward trial in November.
Author note: Last updated July 24, 2026.