UPDATE 11/22/2015 7:34 PM: As investigation continues, mayor, East Precinct commander address Broadway/Pike shootings
At least four people were reported shot in multiple bursts of gunfire near Broadway and Pike outside the QFC early Sunday morning. The store’s front door was shattered at the shooting scene. One victim was reported to have died by people at the scene but authorities say that the situation is not a homicide. Seattle Fire now says five victims suffered gunshot wound injuries or were injured by glass.
Police found multiple people injured and bleeding outside the QFC and near the upper level the parking lot in the incident just after 1 AM. One victim was also reported found inside the market with a gunshot wound to the leg.
UPDATE 8:40 AM: SPD has posted its report on the incident.
Gang Unit detectives are conducting the follow up investigation after four people were struck by gunshots.
At approximately 1:00 am, 0fficers responded to the intersection of Broadway and Pike, where witnesses reported hearing an argument between a group of people just before shots were fired. Witness reported that the shots came from a silver sedan, that immediately fled the scene following the shooting. Four people were struck by gunshots and one person was struck by glass fragments from the nearby large glass windows from the grocery store that shattered. Seattle Fire Department responded and transported the injured victims to Harborview Medical Center with non life-threatening injuries.
Gang Unit detectives responded and processed the scene. Multiple shell casings were located in the intersection. This remains an active and on-going investigation. The Gang Unit will conduct the follow up investigation.
Anyone who may have information on this incident is asked to contact the Seattle Police Department.
Seattle Fire reported three female victims were transported from the scene. According to radio dispatches, another victim was reported in “red” condition — code for life-threatening injuries. UPDATE: SFD tells us its medic crew determined the patient was hit by glass, not a bullet resulting in less serious injuries than first thought.
3 women in 20's with gun shot wounds being transported to hospital from Harvard Ave and E Pike St. 1 critical 1 serious 1 minor injuries.
— Seattle Fire Dept (@SeattleFire) November 22, 2015
Police reported hearing gunfire coming from behind the QFC and rushed to area, according to East Precinct radio. SPD’s gang unit was called to the scene to investigate the shootings.
UPDATE 3:30 AM: A member of the Emerald City Heroes Organization that performs citizen patrols in nightlife areas reports he was at the scene of the attack:
UPDATE 8:10 AM: Seattle Fire is reporting that four people shot in the incident have only minor injuries. We are working to clarify if there is a fifth victim or if reports that a victim has died are erroneous.
One person in a nearby club reported that patrons were kept inside in the immediate aftermath.
Police stopped vehicles in the area following the shooting and were detaining people for more information.
Glass at the QFC was shattered during the gunfire and at least one person reported their car was struck by a bullet.
A rise in gun incidents in Central Seattle has included a spate of shootings including Thursday night’s incident on E Cherry in which a teen was shot in the leg. Earlier that day, the FBI announced nine people had been taken into custody in a law enforcement operation focused on guns and drugs in the area around 23rd and Union following a deadly summer of Seattle shootings.
The area around the Harvard parking lots near where Sunday morning’s incidents occurred draws nightlife crowds and has been the scene for brawls and assaults. In August, a 23-year-old was gunned down in a parking lot shooting in another nightlife area of the Hill on E Pine near Melrose. That murder remains unsolved. A community vigil following that deadly shooting included calls for the city and property owners to make the area safer.
UPDATE: 8:20 AM: The ECHO group has posted video from the incident:
UPDATE: 12:35 PM: Employees at QFC say this is a bullet hole from Sunday morning’s shooting.
Thanks to a CHS reader for this picture of what employees say is a bullet hole from the shooting
Ugh. I was hoping everyone was OK. I live right there and heard the scene last night. Almost 1am exactly when there were around 8 gunshots one right after another. The police response was very, very swift. For about three seconds after the shots, all was silent, like when someone breaks a glass in a restaurant. Then it all resumed – 95 Slide’s rooftop was wooing, girls were loudly looking for their shoes. It was so strange. Around ten minutes later someone ran up to someone outside of 95 Slide and started pummeling him until they were broken up by friends. Then minutes after that in front of Pike Motorworks (luxury!) there was someone lying on the ground with his friends freaking out around him. A medic car just reversed from the scene at QFC to help this other guy. I’m not sure what happened there, but he ended up walking away. He said, “You better give me Obamacare, I can’t afford this!” Really weird vibe out there last night. I’m truly sad it ended like this. Thank you, CHS – I always know I can count on you.
“Luxury” apartments and the occasional shooting. Are we officially Belltown?
Ugh, I know, right? I’m counting the days until these assholes decide some other part of town is their fun weekend shooting place and move on.
Pike/Pine is definitely Belltown II. Smart money is renting in places with private decks, not shooty parking lots.
I’m so confused. Last night over the radio they were reporting chest injuries and requesting to intubate. I’m not a doctor, but it seems odd that a gunshot victim would improve from critical to minor injuries in just 6 hours.
Agree. It has been a complicated story to report.
Seattle Fire says the situation was complicated by one victim’s injuries that appeared to be very serious. Medics later found that the injuries were caused by flying glass, not a bullet.
I was walking from melrose and pike to 14th last night at about 11:30pm, and while I typically avoid that area on weekend nights, what I saw was a bit more intense than usual. I saw several people screaming and provoking fights, outside of 95 slide and one at pike and Broadway, but not a single cop. I thought they were going to be on foot patrolling the area at night. Not saying some cops in the area would change much…but maybe.
QFC / Harvard Market needs to step up and stop people from loitering in their upper parking lot and entrances at night. There’d presumably be nobody to shoot if gangs weren’t allowed to hang out there.
aka “Molly Mart” . It is a freakin’ candy store up there, competition is getting a bit rough.
Do you really expect store employees to confront possibly armed drug dealers / gang members?
“Um, you kids, stop loitering.”
It’s SPD’s job to handle this, especially if it’s a known drug selling area.
No, far from that. Those employees have it rough enough at that store. I expect the store to hire trained security guards / off duty cops, and as you mention, for SPD to increase patrols there (and not just for the next week!)
I’m not sure it’s the best idea to get more armed security in the area; it should be SPD handling this.
And the idiots who are there buying drugs need to ooze back to Bellevue and Renton, or wherever they come from. Maybe it’s amazon employees; has anyone figured out if they’re to blame?
Or just de-crimanilze drugs since people own their bodies and can put whatever they want in them (as long as they don’t hurt anyone else or their property cause that would be the crime). That way drug gangs have no reason to fight over turf since drugs could be bought legally. Simple.
Once an incident like this occurs, the adjacent business should be required to hire a security guard to sit in that spot for several months, at the very least to discourage ‘aggressive’ loitering. From the comments and posts, it doesn’t seem like these crime nodes are an unknown thing.
I know that most people in Seattle don’t want to hear this, but there has to be at least 30 cameras on that corner. I sincerely hope businesses are cooperating. I know QFC, Starbucks & the Shell station will hand over footage to SPD when asked. Let’s hope they can snag a few.
I too am confused on how they can be asking to intubate one minute and then report only minor injuries. Maybe it was an unrelated Woo girl choking on her own vomit or something.
In one of the postings by the superhero guys it says the gang members were “thought to be armed by local security guards”. WTF does that mean?!
Probably ‘thought by local security guards’ ie the security guards thought the people were armed.
Gotcha! That makes a lot more sense.
These stories are so discouraging, and frustrating, since the problem seems fixable if SPD and local businesses went all out to solve it . The 99.9% of us that will never use a deadly weapon in an offensive manner totally outnumber the bad guys. The thing is, though, that if I didn’t read this blog or others I would (from my own experience) have a very different perception of neighborhood violence. I’ve lived here and the U-district almost my entire adult life, and I’ve never seen more than loud arguments and obnoxious drunks. It feels safe, even on late night walks across the Hill.
Time to shut this store down. Multiple incidents equals public nuisance. In the meantime, put pressure on the merchants. Put up (security, complain to the city) or shut up (shop elsewhere). Enough.
Yeah blame the supermarket for providing the neighborhood with food! The public nuisance are the worthless scum that cause problems and commit crimes.
i hate the way i feel. just pathetic. why are they so dumb?
maybe unrelated, but the past 2 shootings on Rainier Ave S were “a silver sedan” (dodge charger)
The gang lifestyle needs to be made more difficult to follow. But in Seattle where white guilt and noisy “activists” rule that will be an uphill battle. Then there is the question of what generates the financial rewards for gang members and is the larger population willing to change to erode that.
It happens so much here because it is tolerated. Businesses making their weekend fortunes should be doing more, cops should be on site in this area in large numbers. Capitol Hill ignores so many other uncivil behaviors it’s no wonder people know they can come here and shoot people and get away with it.
People don’t come here because they think they can shoot people and get away with it; they come here because there’s a lot of people here who want to buy drugs.
The drug business is competitive, and that competitive is largely manifest in fist- and gunfights.
Exactly, the solution is simple. Decriminalize drugs. Take away the monetary incentive. If partiers can buy drugs legally, then drug turf wars stop.
yeah that’s a great idea so we can have more lost souls addicted to drugs with no hope?!?! last I checked drugs aren’t good for anyone.
Prohibition has worked fantastically, hasn’t it?
People will want drugs, whether they’re legal or not. The fact they’re legal has created an enormous criminal underground, fills our prisons with non-violent (and violent) offenders, and generally ruins more lives than if we just sold everyone the drugs in the first place.
So yeah. You want to talk hope? Tax the drugs and put the money into programs to give people the hope they can get off the drugs something they’re unable to get in our underfunded drug programs.
You must not be taking the right drugs.
Drugs may not be good for some people but Privilege answered this correctly. And I’d go a step further and also say if you believe individuals own their own bodies, then it is morally wrong to have laws limiting what someone can do with their body (unless its to hurt someone else or their property cause that would be the real crime). Just cause you don’t agree with the choices people make doesnt give you (or individuals in govt) the moral authority to change them. You only own your body, no one else’s. Doesn’t matter if you think they are hurting themselves. It’s their body. Else why stop at drugs? Why not smoking and alcohol? Or sugar? Or some people would say gluten. Where does it stop and who gets to make the decision for you?
It’s hard to be completely certain, but it looks to me like the car in the video is a silver, model year 2000-2002 Toyota Avalon, with a broken driver-side mirror and possible lower front air dam damage.