Three people were killed and four others were injured in a shooting at Seattle Center on Sunday night, officials said.
The shooting occurred around 6:00 p.m. at the base of the Space Needle as the Bite of Seattle food festival was wrapping up, police said. Bite of Seattle says it draws more than 350,000 people to its annual three-day festival. Authorities said two guns were recovered at the scene, that another suspect may be at large and that they did not believe there was an immediate danger to the public. Police asked the public for video footage because there were no surveillance cameras where the shooting happened, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said several of its agents were at the scene.
Seattle Fire Department said responders pronounced two people dead at the scene after lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful, and police said a third person later died at a hospital.
Mayor Katie Wilson said the person arrested in the case is 15 and was being held in juvenile detention for investigation of firearms violations and first-degree assault; she was due to appear in court Monday afternoon. Assistant Seattle Police Chief Tyrone Davis had described the person taken into custody as a "young person" and told a news conference Sunday night that there was no ongoing threat to the public.
Investigators said they believe the two suspects were shooting at each other and that police were still looking for a second suspect, though authorities could not rule out whether that individual was among those killed. Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes said, "We are trying to identify who that person is." Officers searched an IMAX theater where they initially believed a second shooter had fled, and dozens of officers who were providing security at the event reported seeing one of the suspects firing.
Authorities identified the three people killed as two men, ages 19 and 44, and a woman, 56. The four wounded included a 2-year-old boy who was in satisfactory condition Monday and two men, ages 23 and 27, and a woman, 39, who were discharged, a hospital spokesperson said.
Vendors were allowed to return to the sprawling campus Monday morning to clean up and collect equipment and merchandise; skewered squid on grills, roasted ducks in ovens and plates full of food were among items left behind as people fled. A worker was photographed cleaning blood from the pavement near the site and the U.S. flag flew at half staff by the Space Needle. A candlelight vigil was planned Monday night at the center's International Fountain.
Witnesses described scenes of panic. Nick Bate said, "At first, thought there were fireworks, and then everybody flooded and ran past us," and Leanne Coles said, "Everybody started running, and so we just ran too, and we ran through the garden and we ducked and we decided to keep running with the crowd until we got- I looked up for the Space Needle to try to keep track of where we were. It was really scary." Estan Wakonabo said, "It was a stampede," and said he saw people on the ground, some with obvious gunshot wounds. Videos shared online showed people taking shelter inside the Space Needle, with people crouched on the ground and taking cover behind pillars and shelves of merchandise in the Space Needle's lobby during the shooting.
Mayor Katie Wilson thanked the Seattle police officers who responded and took a suspect into custody and called the shooting an "act of horrific violence." Washington Governor Bob Ferguson wrote on social media, "My prayers are with the families of the victims, and the responders as they work to keep people safe," and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal wrote on social media, "Our hearts go out to all those impacted by this senseless violence." An FBI spokesperson said the agency is aware of the shooting.