Tag Archives: shooting

Seattle Police offer Capitol Hill LGBTQ venues ‘active shooter’ training ahead of Pride

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As Seattle Pride participants put the finishing touches on their floats and costumes, a more somber preparation for this year’s celebration will also be underway. City officials are encouraging LGBTQ venue owners, bouncers, and event planners to attend a training next week in the wake of Sunday’s mass shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub that left 50 people dead.

Seattle Police will hold two trainings at the The Cloud Room coworking space at 11th and Pike after Seattle’s Office of Film and Music rushed to organize the events before Pride next weekend.

“We want everyone to be as prepared and as safe as they can be, and hopefully nobody has to use it,” said OFM director Kate Becker. Continue reading →

Central District artist-teacher killed in Belltown shooting Sunday

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McDonald working on the Everything Connects totems at Washington Middle School.

A Central District artist, teacher, and youth mentor died Sunday after being shot on a Belltown sidewalk. Brent McDonald was a longtime instructor and youth mentor at 23rd and E Cherry’s Coyote Central, a nonprofit that exposes middle school students to the arts.

Seattle Police responded to reports of shots fired on 3rd Ave between Lenora and Blanchard on Sunday around 3 AM. According to SPD, officers found McDonald and immediately began performing CPR. McDonald was transported to Harborview Medical Center where he later died. Homicide detectives are asking anyone with information on the incident to call (206) 233-5000.

UPDATE: SPD investigators released a surveillance video Tuesday of two suspects standing on a sidewalk two hours prior to the shooting. A Mercedes Benz station wagon seen in the video is also believed to be associated with the male and female suspects.

Christine Edgar mourned the loss of McDonald in a post on an online fundraising campaign she setup to support McDonald’s longtime partner.

“He was a quiet, gentle, and soulful man who was a talented artist, and who loved working with kids and teens as a Teaching Artist at Coyote Central here in Seattle,” Edgar said. “We are devastated that such a peaceful and kind person was taken from us so suddenly and by such violent means.”

McDonald’s youth-mentored street art projects can be seen throughout central Seattle, including the murals at the Squire Park Community Garden, paintings on the bus shelters at 23rd and Union, mosaics at Powell Barnett Park, and the totems at Washington Middle School.

Federal agents confirm they quietly installed surveillance cameras along 23rd Ave in the CD

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One of the ATF cameras installed along 23rd Ave. (Photo: CHS)

Last month, a wave of Central District shootings prompted some community activists to call for police surveillance cameras to help keep the peace. While the Seattle Police Department and Mayor Ed Murray said they were studying the issue, federal agents quietly moved ahead.

Last Thursday, the U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms confirmed it was the agency behind two cameras installed high-up on light poles at 23rd and Union and 23rd and Jackson.

ATF spokesperson Brian Bennet emailed the following statement to CHS:

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has placed video cameras in Seattle locations to support an ongoing federal criminal investigation. These cameras belong to our agency. They weren’t requested by nor are they monitored by the Seattle Police Department.

As our investigation is ongoing, we have no further comment on this subject.

ATF’s surveillance activities are part of the work it carries out as head agency of the Puget Sound Regional Crime Gun Task Force. Bennet did not divulge any further details on how the cameras were being used, only that recordings were being downloaded to a hard drive and not actively being monitored.

In a July community meeting, Murray said the city was still in the process of “looking at” deploying advanced surveillance cameras and also promised that, unlike past use of cameras in Seattle, the process to deploy the technology would be fully public. Speaking before ATF representatives, Murray and SPD Chief Kathleen O’Toole were both apparently unaware of the agency’s camera plan at the time.

During that meeting, Reverend Harriet Walden said her Mothers for Police Accountability should be counted among the city’s community groups calling for the new cameras. “We want convictions,” she said. Continue reading →

UPDATE: Suspect shot by SPD dies after he shot Metro operator downtown on First Hill-Central District bus line

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UPDATE: The man who allegedly shot a Metro bus driver Monday morning has died from  injuries he sustained when he was shot by Seattle police, according to SPD. The suspect shot the bus driver multiple times in the face and body this morning on 3rd Ave. near Benaroya Hall. After shooting the bus operator, the suspect reportedly boarded another bus at 2nd and Seneca, where Seattle police officers shot the man through the bus windshield. He died several hours later at Harborview Medical Center.

The bus driver is in stable condition at Harborview. After visiting the hospital, King County Executive Dow Constantine told the Seattle Times that the 64-year-old operator is “remarkably upbeat.” No passengers were seriously injured in either shooting.

UPDATE: Harborview confirmed that the injured driver is Deloy Dupuis, reported the Seattle Times. Dupuis has worked for Metro since 1999 and has a clean record, according to Constantine.

KIRO 7 reported witnesses saw three men board the No. 27 bus without paying the fare around 8:50 AM. When the driver asked them to pay, the suspect, who was not one of the three, yelled “war” and started firing. The No. 27 bus line connects First Hill and the Central District with downtown.

The suspect then rushed into a No. 120 bus. That’s when police opened fire, hitting the suspect and putting several bullet holes through the bus windshield. Police have not yet identified the suspect, but the Seattle Times reports the man is 31-year-old Martin Duckworth.

UPDATE: Constantine joined Mayor Mike McGinn and acting SPD Chief Jim Pugel at a 2 PM press conference today to discuss the incident. Pugel said SPD officers shot the suspect when he raised his gun while inside the No. 120 bus. Officers fired again when the suspect appeared to raise his gun a second time. According to Pugel, officers were on the scene within minutes, and the incident was over seven minutes after police were called. Pugel said SPD would review security camera footage from both buses, as well as cell phone videos taken by witnesses. Constantine said that during his hospital visit the driver immediately asked if any passengers were injured in the shooting. The King County executive said he would not release the name of the driver until the driver’s family members were notified first.

“There are a lot of people out there with guns who shouldn’t have them,” Constantine said. He later added “I hope the next time you board a bus you will thank a Metro driver.”

Continue reading →