Police were called to 26th Ave and E Columbia just north of Cherry early Friday morning after a report of gunfire and a woman running and screaming in the street. Police found a man shot in the chest and began a search for three reported assailants seen leaving the area. The incident was reported just before 1 AM.

The shooting was the second of the night in the East Precinct after a 19-year-old man was shot to death in an assault at 28th Ave S and S Lane St south of Jackson around 6:44 PM Thursday. SPD has posted its preliminary report on the incident here.

Early last Saturday morning, a 24-year-old man was shot and killed at 22nd and Union. He was identified as Kevin Brown, a member of the Central District gang Deuce 8.

We do not have additional information on the condition of the victim in the 26th Ave shooting at this time. Police were investigating the incident as a possible robbery. Police and a K9 unit searched the area nearby for the reported suspects described as three black males, possibly in their 20s, last seen on foot. A witness told police that one of the three was carrying a silver handgun, according to East Precinct radio dispatches.

UPDATE 9:18 AM: SPD has released its preliminary report on the early Friday morning robbery attempt and shooting.

A 36-year-old man was shot and wounded during failed robbery in the Central District early this morning. Just before 1 A.M. the victim and his girlfriend were walking through an alley in the 2500 block of E. Columbia St. when the couple noticed three men following them.

One of the three suspects approached the couple and pointed a gun at the victim’s 36-year-old girlfriend. The woman took off running while her boyfriend stepped in and began struggling with the armed suspect. During the struggle the 36-year-old man was shot once in the chest.

Officers arrived within one minute of the first 911 call and began searching for the suspects. The King County Sheriff’s Office Guardian One helicopter and a Seattle Police K9 unit also assisted with the search, but police weren’t able to locate the suspects.

The Seattle Fire Department transported the man to Harborview Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. Robbery unit detectives responded to the scene and are investigating the case.

If you have any information about this incident, please contact Robbery Detectives at (206) 684-5535.

UPDATE 11:25 AM: A spokesperson at Harborview tells us the shooting victim is in critical condition and in intensive care. He has not yet been publicly identified.