Two killed, five injured in Seattle food festival shooting

A shooting broke out around 6 p.m. on Sunday at the Bite of Seattle, an annual food and retail festival near the Space Needle, killing two people and wounding five others, including a 2-year-old child. The Seattle Fire Department said the victims were taken to Harborview Medical Center, where a 56-year-old woman remains in serious condition and the other injured parties are in stable or minor condition.

Police responded with a large deployment of officers and emergency crews, evacuated the surrounding area of the Seattle Center campus and asked the public to avoid the northwest downtown zone. Mayor Katie Wilson said one suspect had been taken into custody, while the Seattle Police Department planned a press conference later Sunday.

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson, who was receiving briefings, said state patrol SWAT officers were assisting local police. > "My prayers are with the families of the victims, and the responders as they work to keep people safe," he said.

Eyewitnesses described the chaos. Faith Adia Hunter said she and friends were near a crepe vendor when gunfire started and they fled into a nearby museum for shelter. > "We were right next to him when it started so we took off running," she said.

Vendor Roberto Ramirez recalled hearing sounds like firecrackers before people shouted “shooter” and began running. > "Suddenly everything was empty," he said.

The festival, which began in 1982 and attracts about 350,000 attendees over three days, continued to receive guests unaware of the incident, who were later directed by police to leave the area.