Police searched for a second suspect Monday (July 27) after gunfire erupted at a crowded food festival in Seattle. The shooting left three people dead and four others wounded, including a toddler. Authorities have already detained one suspect.
The gunfire erupted around 6 p.m. Sunday in the waning hours of the Bite of Seattle, an annual three-day festival. It features hundreds of food and retail vendors, as well as performers. A large number of police and emergency crews responded to the shooting and began evacuating the area around the Seattle Center campus.
Ultimately, two people died at the scene below Seattle’s Space Needle. Also, a third died at a hospital. They were described as two men, ages 19 and 44, and a 56-year-old woman. Also, the four wounded, including a 2-year-old boy, were hospitalized and in stable condition early Monday, police said. The rest of the wounded were adults.
Assistant Seattle Police Chief Tyrone Davis couldn’t say if any of the victims were involved in the confrontation.
Investigators believe the two suspects were shooting at each other on Sunday. Chief Tyrone Davis told a news conference Sunday night that there was no ongoing threat to the public, despite one suspect being at large. Police did not have a description of the missing suspect, he said. “We’re still trying to figure this out,” Davis said. Police did not immediately respond to phone and email messages from The Associated Press early Monday.
Dozens of officers were providing security at the event and some saw one of the suspects firing, Chief Davis said. One suspect surrendered at the scene, but the other fled. Law enforcement searched the grounds, but couldn’t locate them.
Faith Adia Hunter said, per AP, 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,” Hunter said. “So we took off running too into the building with the crowd.”
In the chaos, many vendors ran toward the exits, abandoning their food stands. Hours afterward, some lingered outside the police tape, wondering when they would be allowed to return to collect their tents, food and cooking gear. For example, Roberto Ramirez, a vendor at the event, said he heard what sounded like firecrackers before people began yelling “shooter” and running.
“Suddenly everything was empty,” he said. “People were freaked out.”
After the initial panic, new guests continued to arrive, unaware of what had happened, and were told by police to leave, Ramirez said.
Estan Wakonabo said he and his girlfriend were at the festival, waiting in line for a photo booth. All of a sudden, he was shoved from behind, and he 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,” he said.
After he escorted his girlfriend to safety, he returned to the scene to take photos and saw multiple victims on the ground, Wakonabo said.
Associated Press journalists Gene Johnson, Manuel Valdes, Lindsey Wasson, Annika Wolters and Christopher Weber contributed to this report.
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