Seven shootings, one death in one of Seattle's most violent weekends

BY Chris Sullivan  on May 28, 2012 @ 7:40 am (Updated: 12:22 pm - 5/29/12 )


View Memorial Day weekend violence in Seattle in a larger map

In Seattle a shooting at Northwest Folklife Festival, five drive-by shootings, and a deadly home invasion have some people calling this the most violent weekend years. Police are struggling to find an explanation.

The violence began outside the Folklife Festival Saturday evening. Ryan Burr was about to cross the street toward to the Space Needle when he heard two gunshots. He saw blood coming from his leg.

"I'm trying to process the fact that I could be dead right now," he told KING-5.

Police caught the shooter a few blocks away after a chase through the Center House. He says he pulled his .22 and fired at a rival gang member who had hit him in the head with his skateboard. He missed and hit Burr.

Just a few hours later, four homes in South Seattle were shot up in drive-by shootings. Detectives say 60 rounds were fired in total.

A girl was standing in her bedroom when at least six shots were fired into her home.

"I was standing near the window," she said, "and basically I just heard a few gunshots. The window shattered, and it hit me so my reaction was to duck. I waited a few seconds, and I heard a few bullets again."

At least two of the drive-by shootings are being investigated by Seattle's Gang Unit, but detectives are looking at whether gangs are behind the other two incidents as well.

Around the same time people were shooting up homes in South Seattle, a gunman burst into a home in North Seattle. Police said he was trying to steal marijuana from the homeowner's illegal growing operation.

He shot the homeowner in the chest, who was sent to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition. Relatives told KOMO News that he died.

On Sunday afternoon, a man was found shot in the knee near Greenwood Park. He refused to cooperate with police, keeping silent about any details of the shooting.

"We're not sure if it's all gang-related," said assistant Police Chief Paul McDonagh. "The problem, we think, is that people are finding guns as the answer to solve problems."

There have been 15 homicides in Seattle already this year, including two where innocent bystanders were killed by bullets intended for someone else.

So far, only the suspect in the Seattle Center shooting has been arrested, and there are only vague descriptions in the other cases.

Chris Sullivan, KIRO Radio Reporter
Chris loves the rush of covering breaking news and works hard to try to make sense of it all while telling stories about real people in extraordinary circumstances.
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Comments (16)


  • Add A Comment

  • Paul Kersey wrote...
    Fast and Furious Part II
    May 28, 2012 10:20 am
    provide weapons to violent criminal gangs...allow an open border for free travel for those gangs to cross back and forth....hamstring local police departments with threats of DOJ lawsuits to prevent profiling of the gang members...wait for great enough public outrage at the resulting violence...push for stricter gun control.

    As an ATF supervisor once said to an agent who complained that innocent people would be killed ... "If you are going to make an omelet, you must break some eggs".

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • JoshBile wrote...
    Gun control
    May 28, 2012 10:57 am
    Fight crime, shoot back. Gun control is using both hands. Wonder how long it will be before some citizens get fed up and start cleaning this scum up Charles Bronson style? Not soon enough if you ask me.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Our predominate culture
    May 28, 2012 11:22 am
    Stinks to high heaven. Reject Rap , hip hop , and the urban culture that hates cops , females are hoes , whitey did it and pump some bullets in a rival gang members crib cause dey wuz disrespectin me.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Truth Hurts wrote...
    Puszify the Police, and the criminals Win
    May 28, 2012 11:53 am
    You can't have it both ways people.

    If you Puszsify the Police and have them handing out lollipops and ice-cream, the criminals are going to win.

    Cut the Political Correctness Crap and start policing to solve the problems.

    Seattle HAS a gang Problem.

    Seattle will continue to have problems until the Police are allowed to do their jobs.

    Face the Facts, doing this PC policing, doesn't work!

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • froggy wrote...
    Since we are, more or less, an
    May 28, 2012 1:26 pm
    amnesty State, you can pretty much plan on more Hispanic gangmembers coming to town. They will get all the public assistance they need to establish a home so they have a base of operations. The problem is, is that the administrators of these large departments give glowing reports to the politicians so they can say that there is no gang problem, when in fact there is. That's what happened several years ago in Seattle and it is going to happen again. Instead of keeping the gang unit, it was diminished or disbanded and allowed the gangs to re-flourish instead of being crushed as they should have been.
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  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    Liberals are all worried about private gun ownership. They also realize that they will never take our guns from us Americans.
    May 28, 2012 2:50 pm
    So, logically, the best thing for Liberal government to do is strengthen the police force and the courts and hand out more stringent and longer prison sentences for crimes committed with guns. If bleeding heart Liberal were not so soft on their voting base we law abiding gun owners would not be so on the defense in regard to Liberal government.

    These Liberals are the one's shooting themselves in the foot over the gun rights issues. Just enforce the laws not try to take the rights of law abiding citizens away. Citizens who are caught up in the crossfire between your voters.

    Logic and Liberals. Not a match made in Heaven. Or anywhere else!

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • deltta wrote...
    Houses are cheap
    May 28, 2012 3:01 pm
    In Detroit.......Get away! From Seattle.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Zagnut wrote...
    The usual liberal loudmouths silence is deafening in regard to this story.
    May 28, 2012 3:44 pm
    .
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    People being shot and killed
    May 28, 2012 3:51 pm
    isn't important to the mindless Left Wing Parrots here. They know this is a NO win for them so the only thing that brings them out of their caves are criticisms of their Dear Leader Obama!

    Thanks to MSNBC and the Obama ministry of re immac propaganda and our tax dollars they still think that the Dear Leader has a chance.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Veen wrote...
    This is not a liberal or conservative issue.
    May 28, 2012 5:04 pm
    I have lived down here for 25 years. I see what is going on daily. To me it comes down to a very simple issue: the disintegration of the african American family, and more specifically African American man. If yo look around the country these gAng issues aren't isolated by politics. Liberal cities and conservative cities face the same issues. The one consistent is young black men who are growing up without.fathers. Yes there are other ethnic groups with gangs, but I travel Rainier avenue everyday and the young.african Americans are causing most of the problems.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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