Seattle police said two teenagers who started shooting at each other during a crowded food festival Sunday were likely part of rival groups, while law enforcement continued to search for a third person who may have been involved.
The mass shooting near the city’s iconic Space Needle killed two people, in addition to one of the suspected gunman, age 19. At least three others, including a toddler, were transported to an area hospital and treated for gunshot wounds.
A 15-year-old suspect was detained on the scene and is being held on a firearm violation and three counts of assault in the first degree.
Communication to the public about the shooting since Sunday night has been at times incomplete and inaccurate.
The mayor’s initial statement Sunday night erroneously said there were two suspects in custody and was later corrected without explanation. While the chief of police was out of town the night of the incident, another senior officer waited several hours to provide even preliminary information to reporters at the scene.
In a press conference Monday morning, police provided information that didn’t match what the department filed in court documents for the suspect’s first appearance that day. Mayor Katie Wilson said in a separate briefing later in the day that her office wasn’t aware of details in the court documents until roughly the time they were first reported by local media.
“Things are unfolding very rapidly and we are getting reports that then in some cases subsequently turn out not to be true,” Wilson said. “So we’re trying our best to be able to provide final information.”
The shooting disrupted a sunny summer evening in Seattle where thousands of people were sampling food from local vendors in an annual event held at Seattle Center, a sprawling green campus that includes city’s most recognizable cultural institutions, landmarks and sporting events.
Police said they believe the teenagers knew each other and the shooting was targeted, although bystanders at the event were among the victims. Police later Monday said they continue to look for a “third possible suspect” and asked witnesses to come forward with any information or videos from the scene.
Police Chief Shon Barnes said Monday that staffing at the event was “adequate,” and vowed to bring “all of those who may be involved to justice.”
“The problem of gun violence is worsened by small groups — we have small groups that appear to be at odds with each other,” Barnes said. Assistant Chief Nicole Powell later said police “believe this could be gang related.”
The incident renewed questions about security cameras near the Space Needle. Closed-circuit TV surveillance has been a contentious political issue for Wilson, who faced pressure from progressive advocates to turn off security cameras across the city but opted to temporarily leave them on in the stadium district during last month’s FIFA World Cup games.
“The safety of the residents of Seattle is my highest responsibility and I take that very seriously in the course that we’ve charted on the CCTV cameras,” Wilson said Monday morning. “That means balancing various kinds of safety — safety for different communities.”
Wilson on Monday said it had been an “extremely tough week” for Seattle, citing several other shootings in other corners of the city.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe in our city, to be safe in our city, in all of our neighborhoods, in all of our public spaces,” Wilson said. “And we’re going to be working as hard as we can to make that the reality because we know that the future of our city, its vitality, our quality of life depends on people feeling safe wherever they are in our city.”
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