At least one killed, several injured in Seattle mass shooting

LOS ANGELES, USA – (UPDATED) At least one person was killed and 7 others were critically injured on Wednesday, January 22 after gunfire broke out in downtown Seattle near a popular tourist area, police said.

Local media said at least one suspect was being sought in connection with the mass shooting that took place near a McDonalds fast food restaurant, just blocks away from the Pike Place Market.

It was the third shooting in the area in less than two days.

“Officers investigating shooting near 4th and Pine,” the Seattle Police Department said in a tweet. “Multiple victims. The suspect has fled, and police are searching for him. Officers and medics are providing first aid to the injured.”

Local media quoted police chief Carmen Best as saying that one person had been killed and 5 others, including a child, were critically wounded in the shooting that occurred shortly after 5 pm.

Police ordered people to stay out of the area and shut down a subway station as they searched for a suspect.

Tyler Parsons, an employee at Victrola Coffee Roasters, told The Seattle Times that he was working when he suddenly saw victims falling to the ground as shots rang out.

He said several people ran into his shop to seek cover and he saw two victims with gunshot wounds.

“The shooting was just kind of terrifying. Terrifying it’s so close,” he told the paper. 

One body covered with a white tarp could be seen in TV images lying on the sidewalk in front of the McDonald’s two hours after the shooting.

It was unclear if any of the victims were tourists.

Susan Gregg, a spokesperson for Harborview Medical Center, said a 55-year-old woman shot in the abdomen was rushed into surgery and the boy, who was shot in the leg, was in serious condition. The other victims – 5 males – are in satisfactory condition, she said.

Gregg added that the nature of the injuries varied from grazing wounds to life-threatening injuries.

One witness interviewed by local media said he had seen two men arguing loudly before they started shooting at one another, hitting bystanders.

Around 40,000 people died from various firearms-related incidents, including suicides and homicides, in 2017 in the US, according to government figures. – Rappler.com