Seattle authorities said on Monday there were at least three suspects involved in the deadly shooting at a food festival on Sunday evening near the Space Needle. One of them was among the three killed in the violence.
A document filed in juvenile court on Monday revealed a suspect aged 15 was arrested and waived his initial court appearance. The filing also showed that police think there are at least three shooters rather than the two initially reported: the 15-year-old, an acquaintance who died at the scene and “at least one other unknown suspect”.
Authorities did not release the name of the arrested suspect because he is a minor. A description of the other suspects was not immediately available.
Nicole Powell, the Seattle police department’s assistant chief of investigations, told a news conference on Monday afternoon that investigators believe the shooting may have been gang-related, with two groups firing at each other. The deceased shooter was 19.
A judge ordered the 15-year-old held in juvenile detention for investigation of firearms violations and first-degree assault. The King county prosecutor’s office said it expected to receive the case from Seattle police on Wednesday for a charging decision.
Tyrone Davis, the assistant Seattle police chief, told reporters on Sunday night that investigators believed the two suspects were shooting at each other. Although one remained at large, Davis said there was no continuing threat to the public.
The Seattle Center was hosting the Bite of Seattle food festival over the weekend. The annual three-day festival draws hundreds of food and retail vendors and performers to Seattle Center, a sprawling park in the shadow of the Space Needle. Many attendees rushed into campus buildings or ran from the park at the sound of the shots.
The King county medical examiner’s office on Monday identified the dead as Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, 44; Ashley Whitehead, 56; and Junior Cee Niko Semo, 19.
Villalba was a husband and father of three known for his kindness and willingness to help others, according to a GoFundMe campaign launched Monday to help his family with funeral expenses. He died from a gunshot wound to his torso, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Four who were injured – including a two-year-old boy – were hospitalized. On Monday, the boy was in satisfactory condition, police said. The others – two men, ages 23 and 27, and a woman, 39 – were discharged, a hospital spokesperson said.
The shootout was among more than 270 mass shootings in the US so far for the year as of Monday morning, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
The nonpartisan resource defines mass shootings as those in which four or more victims are wounded or killed. The victims in some of those cases were subject to deliberate, targeted attacks – but many also have been unintended bystanders, illustrating the reality of US gun violence.
The US registers high numbers of mass shootings, prompting calls from many for more substantial federal gun control. But Congress has not implemented such restrictions.
The gunfire in Seattle erupted at about 6pm in the waning hours of the annual summer weekend festival.
Faith Adia Hunter told the Associated Press that 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 … into the building with the crowd,” Hunter said.
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.”
Vendors were allowed to return to the campus on Monday morning to collect their equipment. Skewered squid on grills, roasted ducks in ovens and plates full of food were among the items left behind as people fled.
Near the spot of the shooting, a stain of what appeared to be blood was still visible. A candlelight vigil was planned on Monday night at the center’s International Fountain.
The Bite of Seattle started in 1982 and draws about 350,000 people over three days.
The Associated Press contributed reporting