Shooters target mourners at Capitol Hill memorial site
Oct 20, 2024, 11:33 AM | Updated: Oct 21, 2024, 6:23 am
Several suspects fired shots Sunday morning at people gathered at a memorial for a woman killed a day earlier on Seattle's Capitol Hill. (Photo: Seattle Police Department)
(Photo: Seattle Police Department)
The Seattle Police Department (SPD) said several suspects fired shots at people gathered at a memorial to mourn the death of a woman shot just a day earlier on Capitol Hill.
At approximately 2:15 a.m. Sunday, dispatchers received reports of a shooting on 11th Avenue near East Union, about a block north of Madison Street — also the site of the shooting Saturday morning that took the life of a 25-year-old woman.
As people were gathered at the memorial site for the woman killed, police reported that several suspects arrived and fired shots. When officers arrived minutes later, they found a woman, also 25 years old, who had been shot in the leg.
More Seattle-area news: US Navy confirms 2 crewmembers aboard crashed jet have died
SPD gave the woman first aid until medics with the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) arrived. An ambulance transported her to Harborview Medical Center. As of this reporting, the woman is in serious, but stable condition.
The officers worked to make sure the scene was secure, then began their investigation.
According to witnesses, the shots came from more than one suspect. The shooters then drove off in vehicles. Officers searched the area and brought in a K-9 unit from the King County Sheriff’s Office. They did not find any suspects.
A short time later after police responded, they learned of another victim — a 29-year-old man arrived at Harborview’s Emergency Room with a serious gunshot wound. Police said the man reported that he had been shot at the same memorial on 11th Avenue.
Seattle’s Police Gun Violence Reduction Unit detectives processed evidence at the scene and are working to determine the circumstances that led to the second attack.
More MyNorthwest news: Coast Guard rescues five people from tugboat in distress
The Capitol Hill memorial service
The memorial was created to honor the memory of the original victim, a 25-year-old woman killed Saturday morning at the site.
That shooting occurred around 1:30 a.m. Saturday. 911 dispatchers took calls reporting that shooting. Officers immediately arrived and found a woman who had been shot several times. They tried keeping her alive with life-saving measures until medics arrived, but she died at the scene a short time later.
Detectives still know very little about what led to that first shooting. So far, they have not identified any suspects.
The SPD is asking anyone who has information about either shooting to contact detectives. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact the Seattle Police Violent Crimes Tip Line at (206) 233-5000.
Contributing: Frank Sumrall, MyNorthwest
