On the afternoon of Christmas Day 34-year-old Melissa Arizola found her long time boyfriend holding a gun to his head. He had recently moved to Tacoma from Mexico. Her three children were in the house. Melissa attempted to grab the gun from her boyfriend and was shot during the struggle.
Her boyfriend and another man took her to an area hospital where she died three hours later. At first the boyfriend told police he was downstairs when he heard the gunshot upstairs. He later changed his story. He’s been arrested and charged with first degree manslaughter.
Melissa Arizola is the fifteenth and last homicide of 2007 for the city of Tacoma and a tragic one at that. When I transcribed police reports for the Tacoma Police Department, the first thing I noticed was the alarming number of suicides that were happening in my city and that with the exception of friends and family of the deceased, no one was noticing.
Personally I’ve always been of the opinion that everyone has a right to end their own life. It’s unfortunate that anyone does it, but I view suicides as substantially less tragic than homicides because at least the deceased had a choice. Melissa had a choice too and she chose to try to save the man she loved from ending his own life and paid for it with hers.
So long 2007. Here’s hoping 2008 will be less bloody.
-Jack
tacomastories.com 
hi im trying to locate the man who shot my mom and im having a hard time can you help with his full name??
Your mom was a police officer and worked for me in Merrill, if I can ever help you please don’t hesitate to find me on facebook or get ahold of me somehow..
I would love to somehow get more info on her police work , and fallow in her passion to help others.
Hello. First off, let me say, I’m sorry for your loss. I make it a point not to mention the names of the killers on my website because I like to focus on the victim. Since you asked, I did a quick online check and found this bit of an article that lists the name of the man who shot Melissa Arizola. I got this information from the following link:
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/TRIBnet/access/1404483061.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+27%2C+2007&author=Adam+Lynn%3BStacey+Mulick&pub=The+News+Tribune&edition=&startpage=B.2&desc=Boyfriend+charged+in+death+of+woman+on+Christmas
Authorities reported Wednesday that Melissa Arizola died of a single gunshot wound to the torso about 4:10 p.m. Her three children told police they heard what sounded like gunshots inside the apartment in the 1400 block of East 46th Street, then heard their mother’s boyfriend – 29-year-old Anthony Carlos Garcia – say that Arizola had been shot, according to court documents.
It was a horrific crime, one I never thought would happen in my life… she was my lil sister one that I fought with and one I fought along side with when needed be. I wonder from time to time what would life be like if she were here today, now that she has so many grandchildren, how different both their lives would be. She lost her life trying to save another one and that is who she was an amazing sister, mother and woman R.I.P. beloved sister you are always in my heart and thoughts.. Ida.. your beat of a sister.
Melissa was a wonderful person, she was a police officer and worked for me in Merrill Oregon. I was very saddened to hear that she was dead. I wish her family the best.- Lee Whalon