8 shootings reported in Western Washington Wednesday

A total of eight shootings were counted throughout Western Washington on Wednesday. Investigators in Snohomish and King Counties are still trying to find suspects who pulled the triggers in separate incidents.

RELATED: “Community leader” struck by stray bullet in Burien

“Just all happened on the same day,” said Sgt. Ryan Abbot with the King County Sheriff’s Office. “Seems like a really high number. Yeah, of course, it’s scary.”

The eight shootings all happened within 12 hours Wednesday — two people were killed and five were injured. Another shooting happened in Seattle’s Northgate neighborhood on Tuesday, and another in Renton, making the count 10 shootings between Tuesday and Wednesday.

King County

Four people were detained Wednesday after reports of a shooting near Seattle’s Cleveland High School, in the Beacon Hill area around noon. Four schools were placed into lock down after the shots were fired. The incident is related to a car jacking.

A district representative says students reported hearing gunfire during their lunch break. A 16-year-old boy ran to the school and reported he was carjacked. Administrators called police and put the school in lock down as a precaution. The suspects ran into a greenway near Dearborn Park Elementary, which prompted another lock down there. Police used a K-9 unit to track down four suspects and took them into custody.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a 32-year-old woman was shot in Seattle’s Dunlap area near 48th Avenue South and South Director Street shortly after noon. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center in serious condition.

Seattle police say that the woman was shot after an argument with an ex-girlfriend.

“Witnesses in the area describe the suspect as a black female in her 20s with red hair, and wearing a red shirt and blue pants,” said Seattle Detective Patrick Michaud.

In Skyway, a woman was shot in the head while driving on Rainier Avenue South at around the 11400 block Wednesday evening. It is unknown where the shot came from. Her car crashed into another car. Deputies responded to the incident after 10 p.m.

“We got a call for a car crash,” Sgt. Abbott said. “When we arrived, we found a female that had been shot and was deceased at the scene. She died there from the gunshot wound.”

In Burien, a 51-year-old woman known as a community leader was shot at about 2:45 p.m. Wednesday. The woman was working at her desk at a chiropractic clinic at 152nd Street and 1st Avenue. Someone fired 11 shots from a moving car, targeting a 39-year-old man who was walking with his 15-year-old son whom he had just picked up from school. The woman in the office was struck by a stray bullet.

Two 17-year-old suspects have been arrested in relation to the Burien shooting. Witnesses described the car from the incident and police were able to track it down. Both suspects have been booked into the youth service center for investigation of murder. The two boys are members of a gang known to law enforcement.

“She was a community leader and she’s been a pedestal to our community,” Burien Mayor Jimmy Matta told KIRO 7. Matta knew the woman at the chiropractic clinic where he was a patient for 20 years.

“The passenger sitting in the front side, he just reaches over, out the window with a handgun, and he just starts unloading the gun,” a witness told KIRO 7.

Police responded to a call for shots fired in Des Moines Wednesday evening. The incident was reported in the 22400 block of Pacific Highway South. No injuries were reported. Suspects fled the area.

🚔 are investigating a shooting in the 22400 block of Pacific Hwy S. At this time there are no injuries and the involved suspects fled the area. This is an on going investigation. MB pic.twitter.com/TADadUgtlw

— Des Moines Police, WA (@DesMoinesPolice) September 20, 2018

King County Sheriff’s Sergeant Ryan Abbott told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson that the 39-year-old father who appeared to be the target of the suspected shooters has gang affiliations, though his 15-year-old son does not.

“It turns out that there were some words between the 39-year-old father and the occupants of the SUV,” Abbott said. “We’ve got some history, it looks like, with the father, where he’s actually a documented gang member.”

Abbott said that a challenge in gang-related cases is that often times, witnesses will not talk to detectives out of fear of retaliation from gang members.

“Because of their age, it will ultimately be up to the prosecutor’s office,” how the teens are tried, Abbott said, but it’s likely they will be tried as adults.

Snohomish County

Three people were injured in two separate shootings in Snohomish County Wednesday evening.

RELATED: Woman shot in the head while serving eviction notice in Renton

One shooting was reported at around 8:30 p.m. in Lynnwood. A man in  his 20s was shot in the arm and an 18-year-old woman was shot in the neck while the two were sitting in a vehicle near Olympic View Drive and Blue Ridge Drive. They were taken to Harborview Medical Center. The woman is in critical condition.

The incident is suspected to be a drive-by shooting. Police have little information about the suspect, but believe they knew the victims. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Sgt. Doug Teachworth at 425-670-5616.

A third shooting victim in Lynnwood was reported to police shortly before midnight. Police believe this incident is unrelated to the drive-by that happened a couple of hours prior. A man was shot while looking for his dog near 173rd Place West and 60th Avenue West. The man told police he was shot from a vehicle. He reportedly has a minor injury to his back and was taken to a local hospital.

Another shooting was reported to Snohomish County deputies at 9:30 p.m. in Everett. Four men got into an argument outside a mini mart in the 300 block of 112th Street Southwest. A 22-year-old man was transported to Providence Regional Medical Center with serious, possible life-threatening injuries from a gunshot wound. The shooter and another man fled the scene in a car.

“It’s unknown if they knew each other,” Snohomish sheriff spokesperson Courtney O’Keef said. “The victim arrived in one vehicle, the suspects arrived in another vehicle. Detectives do believe this was a gang related incident.”

“At this time, investigators are reviewing surveillance (video) and trying to identify those suspects,” she said.

Information from KIRO 7 contributed to this article.