This picture of the shooting scene was posted to Reddit Seattle along with an account of the incident at the park: “There were a ton of families at the park that were in the line of fire. Thankfully no one was hit… But everyone was out and saw what happend. Black Town Car, Silver ATS & Grey SUV with red stripe. We saw you!”
A teen was arrested following a high speed car chase and crash but fortunately nobody was hit as gunfire rang out in a Monday afternoon shootout alongside the Central District’s Powell Barnett Park.
The 911 calls in the just after 3:30 PM incident reported Labor Day park visitors “scattering” as multiple shots were fired in the area. Vehicles were reported leaving the scene following the gunfire.
Police spotted a black towncar style vehicle speeding from the area that matched the description of a vehicle stolen at gunpoint in SeaTac last week. An officer in pursuit reported that the car collided with another vehicle near Dearborn and 7th Ave S where two occupants reportedly bailed out and tried to escape on foot.
One teenage suspect was quickly apprehended by police but a long search of the area for the second suspect — described as a heavy set black male around 6′ and wearing a black puffy jacket and a red t-shirt — was not successful. Police also recovered a revolver on the ground near the crash scene. UPDATE: SPD says a third suspect also evaded officers.
Seattle Fire was called to treat injuries suffered by the occupants of the vehicle the towncar collided with. The suspect also required medical treatment, according to Seattle Police radio dispatches.
There were no injuries reported at Powell Barnett Park where officers were busy marking shell casings and collecting evidence.
A Seattle Police spokesperson said the department will provide more details on the incident soon.
The incident continues a wave of gun violence hitting Seattle this summer. On Sunday, August 30th, a man suffered serious injuries when he was shot in a reported gunfight outside the Douglass-Truth library near 24th and Yesler. East Precinct and City Hall representatives met with community members in August at a neighborhood crime meeting to discuss recent gun violence. There has been a 23% increase in reports of shots fired this year in Seattle.
UPDATE: Here is SPD’s post about the incident. We have updated our original report to include the third suspect:
Officers arrested a teen Monday after reports of gunfire and a car speeding away from a Central District park.
Witnesses called 911 shortly after 3:30 p.m. Monday when they heard gunshots near Martin Luther King Jr. Way and E. Alder St. The witnesses reported seeing a black Lincoln Towncar driving away immediately following the shots.
Officer Jennifer Gardner spotted the town car, which had been taken in a recent car jacking, driving away from the area. The Towncar sped away only to crash into another car in the 800 block of S. Dearborn St. Three people fled from the Towncar as officers flooded the area.
Officer Adam Merritt was searching the area when one of the suspects ran past his patrol car. Officer Merritt chased the 18-year-old suspect eventually taking him into custody in the 1100 block of Airport Way S.
Officers located 7 shell casings at Powell Barnett Park and a revolver under a bush at 7 Ave. S. and S. Dearborn St.
Officers continued to search but were unable to locate the other two suspects.
holy cow. 3:30 on a nice afternoon? can we please, please, PLEASE put up cameras here? temporary, yes… but lets get photos of these people to help identify them. this is a nice park, in-between several schools that kids walk to and fro and the shootings are so frequent, and, its a war zone. insanity!
Agreed. This summer has been out of control. As mentioned in the article, there was a shooting just last Sunday, a sunny afternoon around 3pm, right outside of the library. Community members in our neighborhood are just trying to take their kids to the library or park and it’s not even safe during the day. So thankful nobody was hurt.
Not if philmoeck has his say but seriosuly i thought Black lives matter!? Unless its of course a black person trying tokill another black person. Strangle i haven’t seen any mention of this on the facebook or social media feeds of kids I knoe went to Franklin and garfiedl. I’m really sorry but the harsh truth is until the Seattle racial activist scene protests these you arnt going to win. Now I’m assuming we will get some long screeds by the local sjw who want to be down with the cause so desperately but until you address this your stuck
Respectability politics still matter.
Peace.
I don’t get it, if this area is such a hotspot, why aren’t there constant police patrols around Union, Cherry, and Yesler along MLK? And maybe have a plan to put up blockades or something. It shouldn’t be so hard to catch these guys.
Because someone would complain about the police targeting a specific race if they did that.
They are. I was pulled over two weeks ago on 23rd & Jackson for having too tinted of windows – along with a $134 ticket the officer handed me a brochure notifying me that this traffic stop was apart of an increased presence in the area.
It seems like the neighborhood has changed enough over the last few years that the characters involved in these extremely anti-social behaviors would be much more conspicuous. So, why aren’t they easier targets for law enforcement? Is the no snitch rule that iron clad? Ugh, I just feel like if this was happening in Bellevue, they would have figured it out by now…and it pains me to say the Eastside could offer something for us to emulate.
actually i think the no snitch rule must be pretty strong. for instance, someone you probably know shoots you, then someone else you probably know drives you to hospital, and leaves you there, and if you survive, you then have no idea who shot you or why you were shot or how you got there. I’d say that is pretty iron clad.
What the CD really needs is some gentrification. Young professional families + hipsters are not involved in this sort of nonsense.
Yeah, all they do is try to pin the blame on anyone but the offenders themselves.
that doesn’t prevent the perpetrators from driving into the neighborhood to shoot it up.
There are TONS of young families in the CD right now and we are all scared shitless that our families are going to get shot at 4 in the afternoon at the park or library. Good luck enticing more families to move here. I’ve lived in the CD for 20 years and have never been as nervous or scared to live in the neighborhood as I am now.
Just another “Summer of Safety” in Seattle.
Has anyone applied the Race & Social Justice Toolbox to this?