A gunfight between two suspects at one of Seattle's largest summer festivals left three people dead and four others wounded, including a 2-year-old boy, as thousands of families scrambled for cover near the Space Needle.
The shooting erupted shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle, an annual food festival that draws roughly 350,000 attendees each year. Police and emergency crews flooded the scene within minutes. Two victims were pronounced dead after firefighters attempted life-saving procedures. A third, a 56-year-old woman, later died at Harborview Medical Center.
Investigators believe two armed individuals were firing at each other when their rounds tore through a crowd of families, food vendors, and concertgoers. One suspect was taken into custody and brought to Seattle Police headquarters. A second suspect remained at large Sunday night, and Seattle Assistant Police Chief Tyrone Davis told reporters the department was still working to determine whether additional suspects were involved.
The New York Post reported the three people killed were two men, aged 19 and 44, and the 56-year-old woman. Four others were transported to Harborview Medical Center: a 2-year-old boy, a 23-year-old man, and two women aged 39 and 40. Three of those patients arrived in stable condition. A fourth was listed in serious condition. Hospital spokesperson Susan Gregg said the injuries involved an arm, abdomen, and legs. A fifth person sustained minor injuries and declined transport.
Harborview went on modified lockdown for the victims' safety after the mass casualty incident, per an internal email sent to staff. The Seattle Center Monorail shut down for the rest of Sunday.
Seattle Police posted on X urging the public to stay away. Gov. Bob Ferguson said State Patrol SWAT officers were en route to assist at Seattle Police's request. The Washington Examiner reported that Ferguson also urged residents to follow law enforcement instructions as the situation developed.
Witnesses described a scene of mass panic. Kayla Carris, 22, told The Seattle Times she was sitting outside the Armory at the Bite of Seattle when people began to scream and run for cover inside the building.
As Fox News Digital reported, Carris described the chaos:
"Everyone was just throwing stuff and running. Like everyone."
Todd Behrends, 59, told The Seattle Times he heard what appeared to be several rounds of shots. People ran and jumped over each other trying to reach the exits. One woman fell, and someone stepped on her leg during the crush. Behrends said he saw a woman on the ground and a man on a stretcher as he ran toward an exit.
Festival attendee Estan Wakonabo gave an account to the New York Post that matched the disorder other witnesses described:
"It was just pure chaos. People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground, baby strollers were falling."
Wakonabo said the moment he recognized what was happening was unmistakable: "Once I heard a pop, pop, pop, that's when I knew it was a shooter."
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson called the shooting "an act of horrific violence" and issued a statement focused on the families of the victims:
"Impacted families are living through the worst moment of their lives, and an entire community is trying to understand how a gathering built around culture, connection, and joy ended in gunfire."
Wilson added that "no one should have to weigh the risk of being shot before attending an event, gathering with friends, or experiencing their city." Her stated priorities were supporting grieving families, caring for the injured, and providing accurate information to the public.
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay said he was "horrified" by the violence. He pointed to the festival's history as a community institution:
"For years, the Bite has been one of Seattle's signature summer traditions. To see violence at a place that brings so many people together is heartbreaking and unacceptable."
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat representing Washington, posted on X that she was "absolutely horrified" and grateful to the officers and first responders working the scene. She framed the shooting as part of a broader pattern, writing that "tonight, we grieve with our community in Seattle as well as those around the country affected by gun violence and mass shootings."
Gov. Ferguson kept his public remarks brief, posting on X:
"My prayers are with the families of the victims, and the responders as they work to keep people safe."
Police said one suspect was arrested and there was no ongoing threat to the public. But Just The News reported that Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis left open the possibility of more suspects:
"There may be more. We're still trying to figure this out."
Police have not publicly identified either suspect. The type of firearms used has not been disclosed. No motive has been released. The identities of the three people killed have not been officially confirmed beyond their ages and sex. Fox News Digital reached out to Seattle Police for additional information but had not received a response at the time of its report.
The Bite of Seattle, which started in 1982, features live music and food vendors spread across the grounds of Seattle Center near the base of the Space Needle. It runs over a full weekend and is one of the city's best-known summer events. Sunday's shooting sent families with young children running through the grounds, past overturned strollers and abandoned food, looking for any way out.
Three people are dead. A toddler is in a hospital bed. And the officials who run Seattle are offering condolences and calling for grief. What they are not offering is any explanation for how two armed suspects managed to turn a family food festival into a crime scene, or what, if anything, the city plans to do to keep it from happening again.
