A 15-year-old boy charged in connection with a deadly shooting at a packed Seattle food festival says he fired only to protect himself, while investigators continue looking for other gunmen believed to be involved in the violence.
According to court documents obtained by KOMO News, the teenager’s attorney said the boy pulled a handgun from a pouch and opened fire after two unidentified suspects allegedly began shooting in the direction of him and a friend during the Bite of Seattle on July 26.
The barrage of gunfire triggered panic outside the Seattle Center Armory, not far from the Space Needle, as festivalgoers ran for cover. Three people were killed and four others were injured, including a 2-year-old boy, News Outlet previously reported.
Seattle police have characterized the deadly incident as a gang-related shootout, saying innocent bystanders were trapped in the crossfire. Those killed included 19-year-old Niko-Semo, a 44-year-old man and a 56-year-old woman.
Police officers keep watch after a mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle food festival July 26. (Getty Images)
More than a month after the shooting, the 15-year-old is still the only person facing charges in the case.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office told News Outlet that police have not referred any additional cases involving other potential suspects in the Bite of Seattle shooting.
“Seattle Police are handling the investigation,” the office said. “No other cases from the Bite of Seattle shooting other than the charged case involving the 15-year-old have been referred by police investigators to the KCPAO.”
Police have, however, identified two potential persons of interest after combing through roughly 450 hours of video, Interim Seattle Police Chief Andre Sayles told FOX 13 Seattle.
Sayles cautioned that police have not determined whether the two people opened fire.
Police officers at the scene of a mass shooting in Seattle on July 26. (KCPQ)
“I can say that we are looking at two potential persons of interest in this incident, not saying that they are the shooters or anything of that nature, but people that we have identified that we need to have a conversation with,” Sayles said.
No additional arrests have been announced. Sayles said detectives are moving closer to interviews and could make arrests if the evidence supports them.
The teen, whose name has not been released because he is charged as a juvenile, insists he only opened fire after someone began shooting at him.
His public defender, Hong Tran, said several eyewitnesses backed up that version of events.
“Law enforcement has interviewed several eyewitnesses to the shooting who confirmed that [the teen] reached for a firearm after the shooting started,” Tran wrote in an Aug. 28 memorandum, according to KOMO News.
Tran said the boy had gone to the festival to enjoy the food and was standing near Niko-Semo when the first shots rang out.
“After hearing shots fired, witnesses observed [the teen] pull a firearm from a pouch and shoot in the direction of the shots,” Tran wrote.
Officers working the festival raced toward the gunfire and arrested the teen at the scene. Witness video obtained by KOMO News appears to show police taking him into custody.
“I was getting shot at,” the teen told officers, according to the defense filing. He said he fired back in self-defense.
Prosecutors say the teen’s actions were anything but defensive, accusing him of recklessly firing into an area packed with adults and children.
“There is no greater threat to the community than a person indiscriminately firing into a crowd of adults and children who only wanted to attend and enjoy Bite of Seattle,” Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Logan Bryant wrote in a filing opposing the teen’s release, according to KOMO News.
The teen faces first-degree assault with a deadly weapon and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm by a person under 18, King County Superior Court records show. Prosecutors also filed a firearm sentencing enhancement with the assault charge.
His shots were not responsible for any of the three deaths, according to court records cited by KOMO News.
Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes and Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson attend a vigil for victims on July 27, after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival. (Lindsey Wasson/AP Photo)
Prosecutors said the boy was carrying a Polymer80 “ghost gun” fitted with an extended magazine capable of holding more than 30 rounds. The privately assembled weapon did not have a standard serial number and allegedly carried a vanity plate reading “1 SHOT 1 KILL.”
Investigators recovered at least four guns at the scene, including weapons allegedly tied to the teen and Niko-Semo, KOMO News reported. Police have been testing the firearms as they work to determine who else was involved in the deadly exchange.
The teen’s attorney asked a judge to release him to electronic monitoring at his father’s home. The judge rejected the request last week and ordered him to remain in custody.
The shooting also sparked scrutiny over the city’s delayed public updates and decision not to use its emergency alert system.
Days later, Wilson accepted Barnes’ resignation after he was asked to step down during a meeting with the mayor, five sources told FOX 13 Seattle. Barnes later defended his response and said he followed department protocol, KOMO News reported.
The teen is due back in juvenile court for a status hearing in October. Prosecutors will ask a judge in November to move the case to adult court.
