The retired N.B.A. star Shawn Kemp was released from jail on Thursday after prosecutors decided not to pursue immediate charges against him in connection with a shooting.
The police in Tacoma, Wash., had arrested Mr. Kemp, 53, on Wednesday and accused him of being involved in a drive-by shooting.
The Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said in a statement that it would not file charges against Mr. Kemp on Thursday, while noting that it could do so later pending further investigation by the police.
“Some of Mr. Kemp’s personal belongings had been stolen from his vehicle earlier in the week and that Mr. Kemp was able to track his iPhone to a vehicle in a parking lot. Mr. Kemp had gone to retrieve his property, the lawyer said, when people inside the vehicle shot at him and Mr. Kemp returned fire in self-defense.”
A lawyer for Mr. Kemp said in a statement
According to a police news release, officers responded to reports of shots fired in the parking lot of the Tacoma Mall just before 2 p.m. PT Wednesday.
The officers determined people from two vehicles had an altercation and one person fired several shots. “The victim vehicle fled the area,” the statement said.
Officers located the suspected shooter, who was still on mall property, and detained him without incident, according to the news release, which didn’t identify Kemp. They also recovered a gun.
Kemp, a six-time NBA All-Star, played 14 seasons in the league from 1989 to 2003, notably for the Seattle SuperSonics for his first eight years. Debuting one year out of high school, he was one of few players at that time to have been drafted without playing in college.
The star power forward helped Seattle to the 1996 NBA Finals, where the Sonics fell to the Chicago Bulls. Kemp also played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers and Orlando Magic.
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