One person reported dead, two people injured in Seattle Central District shooting
May 10, 2019, 3:42 PM | Updated: May 11, 2019, 2:07 pm
One person was killed and two people were injured in a shooting in Seattle’s Central District neighborhood on Friday afternoon.
PHOTOS: Seattle police respond to Central District shooting
Five people arrived in a vehicle at Swedish Cherry Hill shortly after the shooting, one of whom was dead on arrival — 19-year-old Royale Lexing. Two others sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were transferred to Harborview Medical Center. The remaining two fled the scene.
Lexing’s stepmother, Stanyetta Stroud, spoke outside of the hospital shortly after her family was told that he was killed.
“And my poor baby was only 19. He didn’t even make it to 20 yet,” she said. “We really got to stop the killing. Another innocent child shot dead in the street in the broad daylight and nobody knows anything. It’s just got to stop.”
RELATED: Two more shootings in Seattle after fatal Central District shooting
The shooting occurred around 3:15 p.m. Friday, where “at least one suspect opened fire on a group of victims in the 2100 block of East Union Street.” Detectives and the city’s gang unit investigated the scene of the shooting at the intersection of East Union Street and 23rd Avenue East. Witnesses told KIRO 7 TV that they heard roughly 30 shots from multiple guns at the time of the shooting.
SPD is looking for multiple suspects, but do not have a description at this time. Witnesses describe the suspects’ car as a tan Chevy Malibu.
No victims were found at the actual site of the shooting.
Seattle police tweeted on Friday night, “The @SeattlePD Gang Unit and precinct based Anti-Crime Teams will continue to conduct emphasis patrols in the Central District and other neighborhoods affected by gun violence.”
Garfield Community Center was initially on a lockdown that was lifted shortly before 4:30 p.m. Traffic remains fully blocked in both directions on E Union St between 20th Avenue East and 22nd Avenue East.
The ER at Swedish Cherry Hill Hospital was also reportedly in lockdown.
In a briefing to the press, SPD noted that a gun violence gang unit emphasis has been active in the area.
The last shooting at the East Union and 23rd Avenue East intersection was as recent as last Friday, when a woman was hit in the leg by gunfire.
This is a developing story — stay tuned for more details.
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