Four people were hurt, one gravely, in a gunshot at an illegal street racing event early on Sunday in a Seattle neighbourhood, according to investigators.
According to the Seattle Police Department, officers were called at 1:30 a.m. to a report of a large crowd and erratic driving near the junction of Broadway and East Pike Street in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood.
According to authorities, the throng first rejected the officers’ attempts to stop the event.
Officers who remained on the scene shortly before 4 a.m. heard gunshots and discovered two victims near the junction.
“People were out having a good time. And that was it,” a man named Poe told FOX13 Seattle. “Next thing you know – thought it was fireworks, but it was gunshots.”
Both victims were given life-saving care by police while waiting for firefighters to arrive.
One victim, a man in his late 20s, received treatment on the spot and was taken in stable condition to a hospital. A woman in her 20s or 30s was treated for life-threatening wounds and taken in critical condition to Harborview Medical Centre. There was no current information about the woman’s health available.
A second woman was shot and spoke with police before fleeing the scene several blocks away from the intersection. Later, she made her way to a hospital for treatment.
The hospital also received a fourth victim, a male, who had sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.
According to investigators, gunfire also broke out close to the 1400 block of Harvard Avenue, where officers discovered a male victim who claimed to have been fired at.
Despite finding numerous shot casings, investigators did not uncover any suspects.
