SEATTLE (AP) — One suspect has been detained, while authorities are on the lookout for another after a deadly shooting on Sunday evening at a bustling Seattle food festival resulted in three fatalities and four injuries.
According to Assistant Seattle Police Chief Tyrone Davis, investigators believe the two individuals were exchanging gunfire with each other, and there is no ongoing threat to public safety. However, police currently lack a description of the suspect who remains at large.
“We’re still trying to figure this out,” Davis stated.
Two individuals lost their lives at the scene, and a third succumbed to injuries at a hospital. Four others sustained injuries and are receiving hospital care in stable condition, Davis confirmed.
The shooting occurred around 6 p.m. during the final hours of the Bite of Seattle, an annual event featuring hundreds of food and retail vendors along with performers.
A 2-year-old boy was among those injured, with the rest being adults, according to Grace Nuñez, spokesperson for the Seattle Fire Department.
Hospital spokesperson Susan Gregg reported that the victims suffered wounds to the arm, abdomen, or legs.
Numerous police and emergency personnel responded to the incident, evacuating the area around the expansive Seattle Center events campus. Authorities have not yet specified the exact location of the shooting within the festival, which included both outdoor and indoor areas.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson stated that he was receiving updates and that State Patrol SWAT officers were deployed to support local law enforcement.
“My prayers are with the families of the victims, and the responders as they work to keep people safe,” Ferguson expressed in a statement.
Faith Adia Hunter recounted that she and her friends were buying food from a crepe vendor when the gunfire started. She quickly realized a shooter was nearby.
“We were right next to him when it started so we took off running,” Hunter recalled. “So we took off running too into the building with the crowd.”
Hunter and others sought refuge in the Seattle Children’s Museum, she said.
Amid the chaos, many vendors fled the scene, leaving behind their food stands. Hours later, some vendors lingered outside the police barricades, uncertain when they could retrieve their tents, food, and cooking equipment.
Roberto Ramirez, a vendor at the festival, described hearing sounds similar to firecrackers before people began shouting “shooter” and rushing to escape.
“Suddenly everything was empty,” he said. “People were freaked out.”
After the initial panic subsided, new attendees who were unaware of the incident continued to arrive and were directed to leave by the police, Ramirez noted.
Estan Wakonabo shared that he and his girlfriend were standing in line for a photo booth at the festival when he was abruptly pushed from behind, prompting him to turn and see a throng 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 remarked.
After ensuring his girlfriend’s safety, Wakonabo returned to the scene to take photos and observed multiple victims on the ground.
The festival, which began in 1982, annually attracts 350,000 participants over “three days of food, drink, and community celebration,” according to its website.
Associated Press journalists Manuel Valdes and Lindsey Wasson in Seattle, Annika Wolters in Bangkok, and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
