2 taken into custody, released after UW campus shooting
Jan 21, 2017, 1:41 AM | Updated: Dec 19, 2017, 5:26 pm
Update:
JUST IN: 34yo shot at UW during protest Fri. has improved to serious condition in ICU @ Harborview Med Center & is breathing on his own.
— Maria Guerrero (@MariaKIRO7) January 22, 2017
Original: University of Washington police say two people taken into custody after a campus shooting Friday night have been released.
According to Seattle police, a man was shot in the abdomen during a demonstration outside Kane Hall where far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos addressed a crowd inside. The shooting victim was transported to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition.
Police Maj. Steve Rittereiser said that after investigating and consulting with King County prosecutors, police released the two pending further investigation. Police are not seeking other suspects, according to Rittereiser.
Related: Why people love/hate Milo Yiannolpoulos?
A suspect, accompanied by another person, turned himself into UW police after the shooting and both were taken into custody, the Associated Press reports.
The shooting victim was in critical but stable condition Saturday.
SPD increased police presence throughout the city in advance of multiple protests on inauguration day. Police were brought in to manage the UW crowd before protesters clashed with Trump supporters outside the hall. Seattle police report that there were scuffles and minor incidents of violence among the crowd over the evening. This caused police to block the entrance to the hall, prior to the start of the event and preventing some of Yiannopoulos’ audience from attending the sold-out appearance.
At one point marchers from a separate protest that began at Westlake Center joined the UW protesters where scuffles continued and “tensions increased,” according to the SPD. Seattle police report that people started throwing bricks and paint at officers and others in the crowd. During this activity, police were informed that the man was shot.
KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz reported that Yiannopoulos was informed on stage about the shooting outside his event and continued his speech anyway.
The University of Washington’s alert system sent out a post on Facebook following the shooting: “Possible shooting suspect description — Asian male, 50 year old, 5’7″ 190 lbs glasses no facial hair, a yellow Champion baseball cap, black leather jacket and possibly a maroon shirt.”
Trump protests
There were no other arrests were made during the protests in Seattle, according to police, though there were incidents related to the demonstrations.
The incidents started when an unknown person threw a rock at a Bellevue Police Car at around 9:30 a.m. The Bellevue police were asked to assist Seattle police during the demonstrations. Seattle police also discovered and confiscated wooden dowels, homemade shields, flares, hammers and other items from masked protesters among a crowd at Westlake Center Friday afternoon. That crowd of protesters eventually marched through the streets Friday evening. Some broke off and went to the UW campus where the man was shot.
The protests did not end on Friday. On Saturday, a Womxns march in Seattle drew thousands of people as part of a national demonstration opposing Trump, his policies, and offensive rhetoric he has used.
Schedule: Anti-Trump protests in Seattle
• Jan. 22: Pantsuit 5K run/walk in protest of Trump’s inauguration from 9 a.m.-10 a.m. Also benefiting Planned Parenthood, and also around Green Lake.
• Jan. 21: Another 5K fundraiser for Planned Parenthood in protest of Trump’s inauguration at 9:30 a.m. The run will start at the boathouse and go around Green Lake.
• Jan. 21: The day after the inauguration, the “Women’s March on Seattle” is planned between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. in downtown Seattle. A route for the march has yet to be released, but the Facebook event page states it starts at Judkins Park at 11 a.m. and ends at the Seattle Center. The women’s march is organized be four private citizens. As of Tuesday morning, the event has 30,000 people signed on for the Seattle march, with 41,000 more people interested in attending.
The event announcement reads:
In solidarity with the march taking place in Washington, DC, we will march in Seattle. ALL women, femme, trans, gender non-conforming, and feminist people (including men and boys) are invited to march. We are showing our support for the community members who have been marginalized by the recent election.
The Seattle women’s march is meant to coincide with the larger, national march on Washington D.C. that same day.
• Jan. 21: Another 5K fundraiser for Planned Parenthood in protest of Trump’s inauguration at 9:30 a.m. The run will start at the boathouse and go around Green Lake.
• Jan. 21: The day after the inauguration, the “Women’s March on Seattle” is planned between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. in downtown Seattle. A route for the march has yet to be released, but the Facebook event page states it starts at Judkins Park at 11 a.m. and ends at the Seattle Center. The women’s march is organized be four private citizens. As of Tuesday morning, the event has 30,000 people signed on for the Seattle march, with 41,000 more people interested in attending.
The event announcement reads:
In solidarity with the march taking place in Washington, DC, we will march in Seattle. ALL women, femme, trans, gender non-conforming, and feminist people (including men and boys) are invited to march. We are showing our support for the community members who have been marginalized by the recent election.
The Seattle women’s march is meant to coincide with the larger, national march on Washington D.C. that same day.
• Jan. 20: On Inauguration Day, a “Resist Trump: Occupy Inauguration – Seattle!” protest is planned for downtown Seattle at Westlake Park from 5-8 p.m. It is organized by Sawant’s political party, the Socialist Alternative, as well as Socialist Students of Seattle. The Facebook event indicates that more than 11,000 people are interested in participating in the demonstration, with 3,900 people confirmed as attending, and another 9,300 people invited to the protest.
The event specifically cites opposition to building a wall on the Mexican border, stopping the Dakota Access Pipeline, ending rape culture, and supporting Black Lives Matter. The Facebook event page reads:
The Democratic Party has proven they are incapable of stopping Trump. It is time to build a new party for the 99% based on the united power of all exploited and oppressed people, on movements for social and economic justice, on the belief that we CAN do better than this corrupt and rotten system!
#ResistTrump !! #OccupyInauguration !!
• Jan. 20: Beer Trumps Hate. Protesting Trump while having a beer. A fundraiser for the ACLU in resistance to the new president. 11:30-11:55 am at The Red Door in Fremont.
• Jan. 20: Seattle student walk out at. Centered on Seattle Central College, inviting students to walk out of class at 12-noon in protest. About 250 people are expected to participate.
• Jan. 20: Race for our Rights 5K. A running event in Magnuson Park from 6-8 p.m., set up to raise funds for Planned Parenthood in light of Trump’s election.
• Jan. 20: Protest Milo Yiannopoulos at University of Washington. People are planning to protest an appearance of this controversial conservative at UW. Doors at 7.
• Jan. 20: Bed-In for Peace. Inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 1969 bed-in protest from 8 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Organized by KEXP.
MyNorthwest included events in this post that will likely take over public or common space. There are additional events, some that require tickets that can be found here.
