A summer evening at Seattle’s iconic Seattle Center abruptly turned deadly when gunfire erupted near the Space Needle, leaving three people dead and at least four others injured — including a toddler — during the Bite of Seattle food festival, police said.
Seattle Police said one suspect was taken into custody and officers were continuing to look for a second person following what authorities described as an apparent exchange of gunfire in the popular tourist district of the northwestern US city.
Assistant Police Chief Tyrone Davis said officers received reports of shots around 6pm (2am Irish time) and investigators believe “there were two people who we believe were shooting at each other.” Police recovered two weapons, he said.
Davis added there is “no outstanding threat to the community.”
Seattle Police confirmed three deaths.
Earlier on Sunday, police posted on X that there were “multiple shooting victims” after shots were fired at the Seattle Center.
Eyewitnesses describe panic during shooting at Seattle food festival
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson said State Patrol SWAT officers had been deployed to help local police respond.
“My prayers are with the families of the victims, and the responders as they work to keep people safe,” he wrote on X.
A police officer stands near abandoned vendor booths at the Bite of Seattle food festival
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson called the incident “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.
Wilson also thanked “the Seattle police officers who responded to the scene and took a suspect into custody.”
Four patients were being treated at the trauma center facility at Harborview Medical Center, according to spokesperson Susan Gregg: a child, a woman of unknown age who was in surgery, a 23-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman.
Davis said those receiving treatment were in a “stable condition.”
Witnesses described a sudden rush of fear as shots rang out amid the festival crowd. Several people told Seattle television station KIRO they heard multiple gunshots and ran for safety.
“At first, I thought there were fireworks, and then everybody flooded and ran past us,” 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 event that draws visitors to celebrate local businesses and food vendors.
