One suspect is in custody and a second remains at large after a shooting at a food festival in Seattle on Sunday evening left three people dead and at least four others wounded, according to police.
The shooting took place near Seattle’s Space Needle at Bite of Seattle, an annual food festival that draws more than 350,000 people, according to itswebsite.
A search continued for the second suspect on Monday. Assistant Police Chief Tyrone Davis said at a press conference following the shooting on Sunday that there is “no outstanding threat to the community.”
“What happened here today at the Seattle Center was an unbelievable tragedy, a horrific act of violence,” Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said. “My heart right now is with the victims and their families, and with everyone in our community who is reeling from what happened here today.”
Here’s what we know about the shooting so far.
What happened?
Authorities on Sunday began responding to reports of a shooting at the Seattle Center, a public arts and entertainment area north of downtown Seattle, around 6 p.m. local time.
Two of the people killed in the shooting died at the scene. Four others were injured, including a toddler, and taken to Harborview Medical Center to be treated for their injuries. One patient who was taken into surgery in critical condition later died as a result of her injuries, police announced late Sunday
Investigators believe the two suspects in the incident were shooting at each other, Police Chief Shon Barnes said at a Monday press conference. One suspect surrendered to police at the scene, while the other fled. Wilson on Monday said that “no police weapons were discharged” at the scene.
“Our officers were there within seconds,” Davis said on Sunday. “They performed emergency aid to the wounded until the Seattle Fire Department was on scene. Simultaneously, officers launched a search for the people responsible for this senseless violence.”
Police also recovered two firearms at the scene. Wilson said Monday that camera footage from the Seattle Center is in the process of being recovered.
As of Monday morning, police have not publicly discussed a potential motive for the shooting
“I don’t know if it’s gang activity, but certainly group activity,” Barnes said on Monday when asked if the shooting was gang-related. “We have small groups that appear to be at odds with each other, and in our city, 0.01% of the population is connected to 52 percent of our shootings, most of which are young people.”
Who are the victims?
Carlos Villalba, 44, and Ashley Whitehead, 56, were killed in the shooting, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. Villalba died at the scene after being shot in the torso. Whitehead, who was shot in the pelvis, was transported to hospital and taken into surgery, but ultimately died
The third person killed, later identified as 19-year-old Junior Semo, is being treated at this time as one of the suspected shooters, according to court documents. He died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds
A vigil was held for the victims at the International Fountain in Seattle Center on Monday night. Whitehead had “a great sense of humor” and was a “very colorful person … an artist, a creative type, and a free spirit,” Whitehead’s cousin Michelle said at the vigil
“It didn’t feel real until probably this morning. I had a few hours of sleep but it just felt like I was living in someone else’s body, someone else’s life. This couldn’t be real. That the one time she came here, she happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Michelle Whitehead said, recalling the moment she learned Whitehead had died
Whitehead said goodbye to her daughter, who witnessed the shooting, before she passed, according to a GoFundMe posted by a family member
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A close family friend told KING 5 that Villalba was “one of the best people on the planet.” His wife told the news outlet that “no one can” wrap their heads around this tragedy
One of the wounded victims was a 2-year-old boy who was shot in the arm, according to the Seattle Police Department. The toddler, as well as a 23-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman, were transported to Harborview Medical Center for treatment and were discharged as of Monday evening, a UW Medicine spokesperson told news outlets
A 40-year-old woman was treated by medics at the scene and declined to be transported to hospital. A fifth possible victim, a 27-year-old man, was discharged after receiving treatment for a gunshot wound at UW Medical Center at Montlake, although police are investigating whether he was hurt in the shooting
Who are the suspects?
Little information has so far been released about the person in custody, or the suspect still at large. Wilson said at the press conference on Monday that the detained individual was “a 15-year-old juvenile in connection with the shooting.”
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The suspect waived his presence at an initial court hearing on Monday afternoon, according to juvenile court documents. King County Superior Court Judge Tanya Thorp found probable cause for three counts of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, the Seattle Times reported. The suspect has not yet been formally charged. He is expected to appear at his arraignment on Thursday, and will be held in secure detention until then
Davis said “there may be more” suspects, stating that “we’re still trying to figure this out.” He encouraged people who were at the scene to come forward and help the department locate other potential suspects
“There are witnesses. They’re not coming forward,” he said. “We need people to be brave, to reach out to us. You can do so anonymously. We know that we have people who probably have evidence or have information that they can share with us.”
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What officials are saying
Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, whose district includes Seattle Center and who attended Sunday’s press conference, said that she was “absolutely horrified” by the shooting. She added that Seattle was “coordinating across all levels of government,” when asked about the federal government’s knowledge of the shooting
“My heart goes out to the victims, their families, and our whole Seattle community,” Jayapalsaid on X.
Wilson commented on the high incidence of gun violence in the U.S. after the shooting.
“We have far too much gun violence in this city and in this country, and we’re coming off of a week in Seattle where we’ve had three major incidents of gun violence in just a few days,” she said.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said at the news conference that “our hearts go out to everybody who’s impacted by this.”
“I can’t imagine being the parent of a two-year-old toddler, for example, who’s injured in a shooting like this,” he said
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The state’s Sens. MariaCantwell and PattyMurray also expressed their condolences to the victims and gratitude to authorities
