Two people were killed and two others critically wounded in a shooting and attempted getaway in a Seattle neighborhood on Wednesday, police said. In all, three people were shot — one fatally — and another person died in a head-on collision with the suspect, who was fleeing the scene.
Police said the violence unfolded in Lake City, several miles northeast of downtown, around 4 p.m. Pacific time. The gunman, who lived in the area, attempted to carjack a vehicle, said Seattle Deputy Police Chief Marc Garth Green in a news conference. The suspect, who authorities have not yet identified, then shot the driver and the car veered off the road, Garth Green said.
Then, the gunman turned his attention toward a county bus and opened fire, shooting the driver. The bus driver was able to steer the bus away from the scene, police said.
After the bus sped off, the suspect then attempted to hijack another car, shooting and killing its driver. Garth Green said police arrived on the scene shortly after and tried to coax the man out of the stolen vehicle. Instead, the suspect drove away and crashed into yet another vehicle, killing its driver.
At that point, Garth Green said, police were able to apprehend the man.
“We believe it is one lone suspect involved in this random, senseless act,” Garth Green said.
Two victims were pronounced dead at the scene and two more, plus the shooter, were transported to the hospital, said Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins.
The shooting is a tragedy for Lake City and all of Seattle, the mayor, Jenny Durkan, said on Twitter.
“We grieve with the loved ones of those who were taken & we extend our support to those who were injured,” Durkan wrote. “I am grateful to the King County Metro driver who saved lives & to our first responders.”
King County Metro, the transit authority that operates the bus system, confirmed in a statement that one of their drivers was shot and alerted officials by activating the bus’s emergency alarm. The agency said no other passengers appeared to be injured. Twelve other people were on board.
The driver was hit in the torso, but was able to walk to a gurney for transport to the hospital, Kenneth Price, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 58, told The Associated Press. It’s unclear whether the driver was targeted, Price added.
King County Executive Dow Constantine said the wounded driver “acted heroically in the face of extreme adversity to protect his passengers this afternoon in Lake City.”
Footage from a nearby traffic camera showed several police cars surrounding a Metro bus, The Times reported. Its windshield had several with bullet holes in it.
Overhead video showed more police cars and dozens of officers, along with a fire engine and an ambulance, all lining a street in a residential neighborhood. At least two vehicles appeared mangled. Officials said numerous streets in the area were blocked off and police instructed the public to stay away.
Several agencies are assisting in the investigation, including the Seattle Division of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and King County Sheriff’s Office, in addition to Metro Transit Police.