‘It’s eye-opening’: West Seattle shootout leaves neighborhood shaken
Oct 31, 2023, 2:59 PM | Updated: Nov 1, 2023, 9:37 am
West Seattle was the scene of a car-to-car shootout. (Photo: James Lynch/KIRO Newsradio)
(Photo: James Lynch/KIRO Newsradio)
A wild, rolling, car-to-car shootout in West Seattle left one man seriously injured and a neighborhood in fear.
Witnesses said it sounded like fireworks in the middle of the afternoon. More than a dozen shots were fired. Four buildings were sprayed with bullets.
At 2:40 p.m. Oct. 23, 911 dispatchers received multiple reports of gunfire near the intersection of 35th Avenue South and South Webster Street. Several witnesses reported seeing suspects in two vehicles shooting at each other as they fled the area.
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Officers arrived and located evidence of a shooting, but they did not find any victims. Police found an abandoned vehicle several blocks away.
While officers processed the scene for evidence, they learned a 30-year-old male arrived at Harborview Medical Center with a gunshot wound. He is currently in stable condition.
Gun Violence Reduction Unit Detectives responded to the scene and are working to determine the circumstances that led up to the shooting. No suspects have been identified.
No one else was injured, but at least two people got away.
“At the time officers arrived at the scene, they did find evidence of a shooting.” Seattle Police Detective Judinna Gulpan told KIRO Newsradio. “It was reported to police as two male suspects getting out of a blue sedan. Later, they got back in the car and fled the scene.”
“Any shooting incident is a danger and risk to anyone in the area,” she said.
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Sam Smith works at the intersection, and he’s worried about his neighbors.
“I’ve lived here my entire life, since 1990. And, I haven’t seen West Seattle this bad ever,” Smith said. “It’s eye-opening to see this starting to become a regular occurrence. You hear about it on the West Seattle Blog. You hear about it on the news all the time. It’s starting to become more regular.”
Police are asking anyone with information to call 911.
