Five people were injured, one seriously, in a late Friday shooting in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighbourhood, which saw “dozens and dozens” of gunshots fired at a distribution event for those in need, according to police Chief Adrian Diaz.
The victims were in their twenties and had been attending a community outreach event that distributes food, clothing, and toys on Fridays, Diaz said during a news conference at 10:30 p.m. He stated that the giveaway is held on Fridays.
According to a hospital spokeswoman, one guy was in serious condition at Harborview Medical Centre, while two other men and a woman were being treated for non-life threatening injuries. Diaz stated that the fifth victim was treated at the scene of the shooting.
At least two suspects were being sought by police.
Diaz said it was unclear whether the victims were targeted or what happened before shots were fired.
The shooting, which happened just before 9 p.m. in the 9200 block of Rainier Avenue South in front of a former King Donut restaurant, prompted a major police reaction and brought Mayor Bruce Harrell and Diaz to the site.
“To be honest, this is really upsetting,” Diaz said, “when you have victims who were really just trying to do an outreach effort, trying to help people…get people on the right track–and this is what they end up getting hit with.”
Diaz bemoaned the bloodshed, saying that police had recently recovered the most firearms they had in 15 years.