2 men injured in machete attack at Hing Hay Park; suspect arrested

Seattle police said two men are lucky to be alive after they were assaulted by a man with a machete in Seattle’s Hing Hay Park on Tuesday evening.

Investigators said the attack happened just after 5 p.m. at the popular park in the Chinatown-International District. Police received multiple 911 calls about a man attacking people at the park.

Cameras captured machete attack as one victim tried to intervene

When officers arrived, a 31-year-old man waved them down. He had a large laceration to his head, police said. Witnesses told officers the suspect was still in the park and pointed him out. Officers saw the man holding a machete and called out to him. The suspect went into nearby bushes and later came back out without the weapon, according to witnesses.

“Officers also found a 48-year-old man who said he had been walking through the park when the suspect slashed him in the back,” Seattle Police Department (SPD) Detective Shane Weatherford said. “The man fell to the ground, and the suspect continued attacking him.”

Real-time crime center cameras recorded the assault, according to the detective. The footage showed the suspect chasing the 48-year-old with a machete. The 31-year-old then tried to stop the attack by shoving the suspect, who turned toward him. As the 48-year-old tried to run, the suspect struck him in the back, causing him to fall, and continued the assault, Weatherford said.

Witnesses also told police the suspect may have argued with one of the victims before the attack.

“Both of them were actively bleeding when police arrived,” Weatherford said. “Officers provided aid, and then Seattle Fire also provided aid to them.”

Police arrested a 44-year-old man on suspicion of felony assault and booked him into King County Jail.

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