SEATTLE — Authorities were still looking Monday for a second suspect after a shooting broke out at a packed food festival near Seattle’s iconic Space Needle, killing three people and injuring four others, including a young child. A separate suspect had already been taken into custody.
Seattle police said investigators believe the two suspects were exchanging gunfire on Sunday evening. While one person remained at large, Assistant Seattle Police Chief Tyrone Davis told reporters at a Sunday night briefing that officials did not believe there was any continued danger to the wider public.
Davis said police did not yet have a description to release of the suspect who fled.
“We’re still trying to figure this out,” Davis said. The Seattle Police Department did not immediately answer phone or email inquiries early Monday.
Two victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while a third later died at a hospital. Police identified the dead only by age and gender: two men, 19 and 44, and a 56-year-old woman.
Four other people, among them a 2-year-old boy, were taken to hospitals and were listed in stable condition early Monday, according to police. The remaining injured victims were adults. Davis said investigators had not determined whether any of those struck by gunfire were connected to the confrontation.
The shooting happened around 6 p.m. Sunday as the Bite of Seattle, a popular three-day annual event featuring food vendors, retailers and live entertainment, was nearing its final hours.
Davis said dozens of officers had been assigned to provide security at the festival, and some witnessed one of the suspects firing a weapon. One suspect surrendered at the scene, while the second ran off. Officers searched the festival grounds but did not find the person who escaped.
A large number of police and emergency crews responded and began evacuating the area around the sprawling Seattle Center campus.
Faith Adia Hunter said she and her friends had just gotten food from a crepe vendor when gunfire broke out. She realized a shooter was near them. She and others found shelter in the nearby Seattle Children’s Museum.
“We were right next to him when it started so we took off running,” Hunter said. “So we took off running too into the building with the crowd.”
In the chaos, many vendors bolted toward the exits, abandoning their food stands. Hours afterward, some milled outside the police tape, wondering when they would be allowed to return to collect their tents, food and cooking gear.
Roberto Ramirez, a vendor at the event, said he heard what sounded like firecrackers before people began yelling “shooter” and frantically running.
“Suddenly everything was empty,” he said. “People were freaked out.”
After the initial panic, new guests continued to arrive unaware of what had happened and were told by police to leave, he said.
Estan Wakonabo said he and his girlfriend were at the festival waiting in line for a photo booth when he was shoved from behind and he turned to see a rush 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 said.
After he escorted his girlfriend to safety, he returned to the scene to take photos and saw multiple victims on the ground, Wakonabo said.
The festival started in 1982 and draws 350,000 attendees, 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.
