A neighborhood Washington State Department of Social and Health Services center providing access to programs including food, cash, and medical benefits will reopen next week after a bizarre shooting incident at the E Cherry facility closed the location for weeks.

A Department of Social and Health Services declined to comment on the incident saying the police report on the shooting “speaks for itself” but said the office would be closed until October 1st so repairs can be made after damage from the incident.

Seattle Police says officers were called to 17th and Cherry early on the morning of Tuesday, August 27th after multiple 911 callers reported a “barrage of gunfire in the area.”

Officers arrived as more gunfire could be heard and found the front door of the DSHS’s Capitol Hill Community Services Office smashed and multiple shell casings scattered on the ground.

“Officers heard sounds coming from inside the business and requested containment and additional resources from other precincts due to the layout and size of the business,” SPD reports. “While containment was being set up, a subject was observed exiting from the rear of the building and bee-lining it to a vehicle.”

Police broadcast a description of the vehicle which was spotted speeding away from the area.

SPD say there was “significant bullet damage” to the building and at least two dozen casings were recovered on scene.

Police gathered evidence at the scene including security video that allowed them to identify the plate of the suspect vehicle and the car’s registered owner. Police were able to determine that the owner matched the description of the gunman spotted at the scene. The suspect also had a firearm registered to him with the same caliber found at the scene, SPD says.

The suspect was taken into custody by a SWAT unit. A firearm and ammunition were recovered from his residence. SPD says the suspect was reportedly transported by ambulance for evaluation as part of the booking process.

The incident comes as the state recently backed off plans to shutter the facility over costs and overlap with other nearby office locations. CHS reported here in February on the Department of Social and Health Services decision to put the closure on hold.

The Capitol Hill Community Services Office is scheduled to reopen Tuesday, October 1st.

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