Downtown Seattle Shooting: Three Wounded, Police Respond To 2 Separate Assault Calls

Seattle skyline — The Space Needle and Mount Rainier are pictured at dusk in Seattle, Washington on March 12, 2014. Reuters/Jason Redmond

Police officials in Seattle responded to two calls of assault with weapons late Wednesday after three people were reportedly injured. One of the victims, aged 25, from the first shooting call, was in a critical condition, the Seattle Police Department said.

Officials received the first call near Second Avenue and Pine Street at about 8:15 p.m. Wednesday. They found two victims on reaching the spot. The injured persons, one of whom was 16, were reportedly taken to Harborview Medical Center. A witness to the incident told the Seattle Times that she saw a group of men walking on Pine Street, who ran away after the shots were fired.

Police officials later cordoned off several streets in the area, Q13 Fox News reported. It was not immediately clear what led to the shooting or whether anyone was arrested. The incident had taken place near a Fox News van, which was parked half a block away.

“This one was a little too close for comfort,” Lynch, a Fox News crew member, said, according to Q13 Fox News, adding: “We were working out of our news van at 2nd and Pine when we heard about half a dozen gunshots. We hunkered down for a few minutes and when we got out, two men were hobbling toward us. It was obvious they had been shot.”

UPDATE: All lanes of Pine St from 1st to 3rd, and all lanes of 2nd Ave from Stewart to Pike are closed for police activity. Use alt routes
— seattledot (@seattledot) January 22, 2015

“I was walking from McDonald’s, I came out and there was a group of men, black men, and they started shooting this way — about six, seven shots, ” Gailen Lopton, a witness to the incident, said, according to Q13 Fox News, adding: “It was unreal, crazy, not something I want to experience again. Apparently two guys got shot and it’s scary. This happening in downtown? It’s not OK.”

The second shooting call came from Bell Street and Blanchard Street at about 9 p.m., where a man at a bus stop was injured due to a gunshot wound to his chest. He was also taken to Harborview Medical Center, but it was not immediately clear whether the two shootings were related, Seattle Times reported.

"Officers are still working to get a description of the gunman or gunmen from the 3rd and Pine and are working with local businesses to acquire video of the incident," The Seattle Police Department said in a statement, adding: "Police are still investigating, but have not yet established a link between the two incidents. Crime scene investigators as well as the Gang Unit are collecting evidence and speaking with witnesses at both scenes."