The victim worked at the JQ Barber Shop at 112 E. Stewart Avenue, where customers have individual rooms for haircuts. Police believe that the shooter walked into a specific room on Wednesday to find the victim, a 43-year-old man who was identified as the owner of the barber shop. His name has not been disclosed by authorities yet.

Arriving at the scene after being dispatched at around 5:09 p.m., police officers immediately called for the support of Central Pierce Fire and Rescue, who later determined that the victim was dead, according to a police update published on Facebook the same night.

The child whose hair the barber was cutting was not physically hurt, according to police.

On Wednesday night, police in Puyallup, 35 miles south of Seattle, alerted the public of “a significant police presence” in the 100 block of E. Stewart in the city, asking people to avoid the area.

Police are investigating and “actively looking” for the suspect, who officials say fled the area on foot. The suspect was described by police “as an unknown race, male, 5-08, wearing black pants, a black jacket, and possibly a mask.”

Several people were inside the barber shop at the time of the shooting, according to Puyallup police, and are cooperating with the investigation. These people told officers that the suspect walked straight into the booth where the victim was working at the time of the shooting.

According to what police told KIRO7 Seattle’s reporter Ryan Simms, officers believe the attack could be a targeted shooting.

Newsweek contacted Puyallup police for comment.

Police are asking people who work or reside in the area of the shooting to check their security cameras for anyone matching their description of the suspect. Videos and tips can be sent to tips@puyallupwa.gov or people can call the Puyallup Police Department tip line at 253-770-3343.

Though the child whose hair the barber was cutting at the time of the shooting was not harmed, studies have found that witnessing gun violence can have a significant negative impact on children and youth. In a 2002 study titled “Mitigating the Effects of Gun Violence on Children and Youth,” James Garbarino and colleagues stated that “children exposed to gun violence may experience negative short and long-term psychological effects, including anger, withdrawal, post-traumatic stress, and desensitization to violence.”

Cases of gun violence involving children have increased in recent years, with firearms being the leading cause of death among children aged 19 and below in 2020, according to a study published in July 2022.

So far in 2022, there have been 618 mass shootings across the country, according to the Gun Violence Archive. This year, 294 children under the age of 11 and 1,252 teens aged between 12 and 17 were killed by firearms, according to the website monitoring gun violence in the U.S.

Over 600 children under the age of 11 were harmed in shootings, while over 3,500 teens aged 12 to 17 were injured by firearms.

Update, 12/1/2022 8:00 a.m.: This article was updated to give more context about the incident.