Eugene Johnson Updated July 27, 2026 – 4:16 p.m.,first published 13:38 Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. TOTOTO Seattle: Police say one suspect has been arrested and another is being sought after a shooting Sunday (Seattle time) at a popular food festival
Eugene Johnson
Updated ,first published
Seattle: Police say one suspect has been arrested and another is being sought after a shooting Sunday (Seattle time) at a popular food festival near Seattle’s Space Needle that killed three people.
Deputy Chief Tyrone Davis said detectives did not have any description of the outstanding suspect. Investigators believe the two were shooting at each other and there was no ongoing threat to the public.
Gunfire erupted around 6 p.m. in the final hours of the Bite of Seattle, an annual festival that attracts hundreds of artists and food retailers. Witnesses described a chaotic scene in the seattle times, with bursts of gunfire and masses of people running and taking shelter.
Three people died and four others, including a toddler, were injured and were in stable condition at a hospital, authorities said.
They all had gunshot wounds, Seattle Times reported.
Large numbers of police and emergency crews responded and began evacuating the area around Seattle Center’s sprawling event campus. Authorities have not said where exactly the shooting occurred at the event, which featured indoor and outdoor areas.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said he was receiving information and that State Patrol SWAT officers were deployed to assist local police.
“My prayers are with the victims’ families and first responders as they work to keep people safe,” Ferguson said in a statement.
Faith Adia Hunter said she and her friends had just gotten food from a crepe vendor when a shooting occurred. He realized that a shooter was near them.
“We were right next to him when he started,” Hunter said, “so we also ran toward the building with the crowd.”
She and others found shelter at the nearby Seattle Children’s Museum, Hunter said.
In the chaos of the shooting, many vendors fled towards the exits, abandoning their food stalls. Hours later, some milled outside the police cordon, wondering when they would be allowed to return to collect their tents, food and cooking utensils.
Roberto Ramírez, a vendor at the event, said he heard what sounded like firecrackers before people began shouting “shooter” and running frantically.
“Suddenly, everything was empty,” he said. “People were scared.”
After the initial panic, new guests continued to arrive unaware of what had happened and police told them to leave, he said.
Estan Wakonabo said he and his girlfriend were at the festival waiting in line for a photo booth when he was pushed from behind and turned to see a rush of people fleeing.
“People were hiding, people were pushing, people were falling to the ground, baby strollers were falling,” Wakonabo said. That’s when he heard gunshots, he said.
“Once I heard a ‘pop, pop, pop,’ I knew it was a shooter,” he said.
After escorting his girlfriend to safety, he returned to the scene to take photographs and saw several victims on the ground, Wakonabo said.
The annual festival began in 1982 and draws 350,000 attendees for “three days of food, drink and community celebration,” according to its website.
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