Shooting in Pioneer Square breaks out hours after Seattle Police Chief vows crackdown on violence

Twelve hours after Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes said he would not tolerate violence in the wake of a triple-murder in the city’s Pioneer Square District over the weekend, police investigated another shooting in Pioneer Square that, according to police, involved a 26-year-old man allegedly shooting a 44-year-old victim in the chest.

Police said the latest shooting happened just after midnight Tuesday morning in the 100 block of South Washington Ave., just one block away from Saturday’s deadly shooting that killed three people and injured a fourth person.

A team of medics witnessed a 26-year-old man shoot another man in the chest in the 100 block of S. Washington Street in Pioneer Square. They were treating an unrelated person for pepper spray exposure at approximately 12:33 a.m. when they saw the shooting.

“The suspect began fighting with medics after the incident, but they subdued him and held him until officers arrived,” the Seattle Police Department (SPD) stated in its crime blotter.

After officers arrived to arrest the suspect, medics rushed the victim to Harborview Medical Center. The victim is in serious condition, as of this reporting.

SPD Chief Barnes’ press conference on city violence

Monday afternoon, hours before the latest shooting in the area occurred, Barnes held a press conference to address ongoing violence in the city.

“We do not and will not tolerate violence in our city,” Barnes said. “To the families of these victims, please know that I have directed every resource necessary to investigate this case, to bring the person or persons responsible to justice.”

SPD is currently searching for a black Tesla that left the scene of Saturday’s deadly shooting. They said they are not naming a suspect and have made zero arrests so far, as of this reporting.

King County Prosecutors said the gun used in that shooting was a modified Glock pistol known as a “Glock Switch,” which can easily convert a semi-automatic weapon to fully automatic, firing rounds like a machine gun.

“We’re seeing now, in cases referred to us, dozens and dozens of rounds that are being fired where 10 years ago or even five years ago you didn’t see as many scenes where a high number of rounds are being fired like that,” King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Casey McNerthney said. “Guns can so easily come over from Idaho, Oregon, or Montana, or they can be made with 3-D printers that are relatively easy to get if you’re looking for them.”

Police said the suspect in Tuesday morning’s shooting is being held in the King County Jail. The Gun Violence Reduction Unit is leading the investigation.

Contributing: Frank Sumrall, MyNorthwest

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