1 dead, 6 injured in weekend of Seattle gun violence: 100% increase in shots fired since 2020
Aug 15, 2022, 10:15 AM
(Seattle Police Department)
(Seattle Police Department)
Gun violence in Seattle has claimed the life of one man and injured six others since Friday. From 2020, the Seattle area has seen a 100% increase in shots fired, according to interim Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz.
The 32-year-old man was shot and killed near Cal Anderson Park early Saturday morning.
Officers arriving on the scene found the man with gunshot wounds. Good Samaritans attempted first-aid, but responding medics ultimately pronounced the man dead.
On Saturday gunfire similarly interrupted a sunny Seattle morning, after shots erupted inside Tony T’s Sports Lounge just outside of T-Mobile Park. A 14-year-old girl fleeing from the scene was shot in the leg and transported to Harborview Medical Center (HMC) in critical condition.
Video: Gunfire erupts around bar outside of T-Mobile Park
Friday evening, Seattle Police found a 21-year-old woman and a 27-year-old man in an alley in Hillman City with gunshot wounds. They were transported to HMC in stable condition.
Several hours later, officers responding to reports of gunfire in Pioneer Square found a man with two gunshot wounds near 3rd Ave South and South Main Street. Medics rushed the victim in critical condition to HMC.
Sunday evening, Seattle Police treated a 16-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to the shoulder on Rainier Avenue South. Ballistic damage was found to a nearby apartment unit, although nobody inside was injured.
Several hours later, a responding officer investigated a West Seattle shooting that left a 28-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the shoulder.
The man was shot in an apparent drive-by shooting following a verbal confrontation with a group of men, according to Seattle Police. Ballistic evidence found at the scene included shell casings from a 12-gauge shotgun.
Interim Seattle Police Chief Diaz called recent Seattle gun violence a “disturbing trend” in a written statement.
“Two weeks ago, there were 29 shootings in Seattle in a single week, the most we’ve seen in a single week all year. So far in 2022, there have been over 460 shots-fired incidents in our city, 27 of them resulting in fatalities. By this time last year, there had been 330 incidents with 19 fatal victims. Since 2020, we have seen a 100% increase in all shots fired,” Diaz continued.
The interim chief notes that SPD has recovered 627 firearms in 2022 and 37% of all guns used in two or more separate incidents.
