SEATTLE: Three people were killed and at least four others, including a toddler, were injured in a mass shooting near Seattle’s iconic Space Needle on Sunday, police said.
The shooting occurred during the annual “Bite of Seattle” food festival at the Seattle Center, a popular tourist destination in the northwestern US city.
Seattle Police said one suspect has been taken into custody, while authorities continue searching for a second individual believed to be involved.
Assistant Police Chief Tyrone Davis said officers responded to reports of gunfire at around 6pm local time.
“There were two people who we believe were shooting at each other,” Davis said.
Police recovered two firearms from the scene and said there was “no outstanding threat to the community.”
Earlier, Seattle Police reported on X that there were “multiple shooting victims” after gunfire erupted at the Seattle Center before confirming that three people had died.
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson said State Patrol SWAT officers had been deployed to support the local police response.
“My prayers are with the families of the victims, and the responders as they work to keep people safe,” he wrote on X.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson described the incident as “an act of horrific violence.”
“Our attention belongs to the people whose lives were taken, those fighting to recover, and the families beside them,” she said in a statement.
She also thanked “the Seattle police officers who responded to the scene and took a suspect into custody.”
According to Harborview Medical Center spokesperson Susan Gregg, four injured victims were receiving treatment at the hospital’s trauma center. They included a child, a woman undergoing surgery, a 23-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman.
Davis said all four patients were in “stable condition.”
Several witnesses told local television station KIRO they initially mistook the gunfire for fireworks before realizing a shooting was underway and fleeing the area.
“At first, I thought there were fireworks, and then everybody flooded and ran past us,” witness Nick Bate told the station.
“We started running. I didn’t know. I didn’t look where the person was going. I just heard everything,” another witness told AFP.
The shooting unfolded during the Bite of Seattle summer festival, an annual event celebrating local restaurants, food vendors and businesses.
