Three injured in White Center shooting over weekend

More than 40 bullets were fired Sunday morning in a violent confrontation.  The search for the shooters led to officers putting more than a dozen people in handcuffs.

Now a neighborhood is on edge and pushing back against the violence.

The shooting happened in an alley on Southwest 98th Street near 16th Avenue Southwest around 5:30 Sunday morning.

Soon afterward, someone called 911, but detectives couldn’t find the scene until three men showed up 45 minutes later at Harborview Medical Center.

Two men were critically injured, and they remain hospitalized. One man is still in critical condition; the other man has been upgraded to serious.

Detectives were able to talk to the third man, who was shot in the leg. Then they came to the scene and found shell casings galore.

Nearly nine hours after the shooting, King County sheriff’s detectives led 15 people in handcuffs out of what neighbors say is a basement hookah lounge.

“At about 6:13, we had three adult males, they drove themselves to Harborview hospital,” said King County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ryan Abbott.

Abbott says the man with the more minor injury told them what happened.

“There was some type of gathering that was occurring at an after-hours location down the alley,” said Abbott.  “And during that, there was a disturbance that broke out. We don’t know how many people the disturbance involved. And as you can see, multiple gunshots were fired.”

He says so many bullets were fired, they struck vehicles and buildings, too.  “I don’t have the exact number,” Abbott said, “but I think it’s somewhere around 40 or so shell casings.”

Local businesswoman Serena Moss did not know about the shooting, but she said it does not surprise her.

“No, unfortunately not,” she said. “It’s kind of like counting the days to when it’s going to happen again.”

Moss owns Sanar Massage on Eighth Avenue Southwest. She and four other female owners are planning an August event to entice more entrepreneurs to set up shop here.

“There’s other places for lease here in White Center to make it a community like it was back in the day, I’ve heard,” she said.

As for the people who were detained, none of them was arrested.  They told KIRO 7 the detectives took their names and let them go.

But whoever is responsible for this shooting remains on the loose. Anyone with information is asked to call 911.

Written by Deborah Horne