Three people were killed and four others – including a toddler – were wounded in a shooting on Sunday evening during a food festival at an events complex near the Space Needle in Seattle, a city fire department spokesperson said.
One suspect was arrested in the aftermath of the deadly violence, and a search for a second suspect continued into Monday, according to authorities. Neither suspect was identified, and no description on the one who remained on the loose was immediately available.
Tyrone Davis, the assistant Seattle police chief, told reporters at a Sunday night news briefing that investigators believed the two suspects were shooting at each other. Although one remained at large, Davis said there was no continuing threat to the public.
The Seattle Center was hosting the Bite of Seattle food festival over the weekend.
After the shooting, two people died at the scene, and a third died at a hospital. They were described as two men, ages ۱۹ and ۴۴, and a ۵۶-year-old woman.
Four who were injured – including a two-year-old boy – were hospitalized, and on Monday all were in stable condition, police said.
The shootout at the Bite of Seattle was among more than ۲۷۰ mass shootings in the US so far for the year as of Monday morning, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
The non-partisan resource defines mass shootings as ones in which four or more victims are wounded or killed. The victims in some of those cases were subject to deliberate, targeted attacks – but many also have been unintended bystanders, illustrating the reality of US gun violence.
Perennially, the US registers high numbers of mass shootings, prompting calls from many for more substantial federal gun control. But Congress has not implemented such restrictions.
The gunfire on Sunday erupted at about ۶pm in the waning hours of the annual, summer weekend festival put on by hundreds of food and retail vendors and performers.
Officers who were providing security at the event saw one of the suspects firing, Davis said. One suspect surrendered at the scene, and the other fled. A search of the festival grounds for the second suspect was unsuccessful.
Police and emergency crews then evacuated the area around the sprawling Seattle Center campus.
Faith Adia Hunter told the Associated Press that she and her friends had just gotten food from a crepe vendor when gunfire broke out. She realized a shooter was near them. She and others found shelter in the nearby Seattle Children’s Museum.
“We were right next to him when it started so we took off running … into the building with the crowd,” Hunter said.
Roberto Ramirez, a vendor at the event, said he heard what sounded like firecrackers before people began yelling “shooter” and frantically running.
“Suddenly everything was empty,” he said. “People were freaked out.”
Many vendors had bolted toward the exits, abandoning their food stands. Hours afterward, some milled outside the police tape, wondering when they would be allowed to return to collect their tents, food and cooking gear.
Ramirez said new guests continued to arrive for a time after the initial panic, unaware of what had happened, and were told by police to leave.
Estan Wakonabo said he and his girlfriend were at the festival waiting in line for a photo booth when he was shoved from behind and turned to see a rush of people fleeing.
“People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground, baby strollers were falling,” Wakonabo said, adding that was when he heard gunshots.
“Once I heard a ‘pop, pop, pop,’ that’s when I knew it was a shooter.”
After escorting his girlfriend to safety, he returned to the scene and saw multiple victims on the ground, Wakonabo said.
The Bite of Seattle started in ۱۹۸۲ and draws about ۳۵۰,۰۰۰ people over three days.
