Seattle Center shooting: What we know about the victims and shooters

Three people were killed and at least four more were injured in a shooting that ripped through a crowd of thousands at the Bite of Seattle food festival at Seattle Center on Sunday evening.

Two days later, there are still unknowns. 

One person suspected of the shooting, a 15-year-old, is being held while police believe another person suspected in the shooting is on the run. 

The aftermath of the shooting is characterized by the loss of three people who have been identified; acts of heroism amid the terror and confusion; and criticisms over the city’s response. 

Here is what we know as of Tuesday morning:

What do we know about the victims?

Among the three killed were Ashley Whitehead, 56; Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, 44; and Junior Cee Niko Semo, 19, according to the King County medical examiner’s office. Their deaths were all ruled homicides. 

People who were injured in the shooting have all been released from the hospital. Among them were a 23-year-old man, a 39-year-old woman and a 2-year-old boy who were taken to Harborview Medical Center and all discharged by Monday. 

A 27-year-old man had reported to University of Washington Medical Center hours after the shooting with a gunshot wound. It remained unclear if he was injured in the Bite of Seattle gunfire.

A 30-year-woman suffered minor injuries and was treated by paramedics at the scene.

Semo, the 19-year-old who was killed, was one of the shooters, police say. 

What do we know about the suspects?

Police believe at least three people opened fire in the crowd on Sunday evening. 

One of them is Semo, the 19-year-old who was killed, and the other is a 15-year-old boy who was arrested at the scene, police said. It is believed that they were associates, though investigators have not determined the exact nature of their relationship. 

The 15-year-old is being held for investigation of three counts of first-degree assault and one count of illegally possessing a firearm. The teen waived his presence in court on Monday in Seattle, where Superior Court Judge Tanya Thorp ruled he will remain in secure detention pending an arraignment, expected Thursday. 

The Seattle Times does not typically name juvenile suspects unless they are charged as adults. The age of the suspect will likely lead to a long and complicated legal process. 

The spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office, Casey McNerthney, said the teen had no cases previously that it had sent to police. 

The third person suspected of the shooting has not been found, and police have not released a description of the person. Police Chief Shon Barnes said police searched a wide area, including inside the Pacific Science Center Imax theater, after reports that the suspect had fled there. 

What do we know about the circumstances of the shooting?

The shooting appears to have been a gunfight between two groups, according to police. 

Assistant Chief Nicole Powell said Monday that police “believe this could be gang related.” 

The first shots were fired at almost exactly 6 p.m. Sunday amid hundreds of vendors and performers and thousands of visitors at the Bite of Seattle. 

A police sergeant followed the sound of gunshots and saw a male with a handgun firing into the crowd, less than 100 feet from the officer, according to a police report filed Monday with King County Superior Court. The sergeant didn’t see how the gunfight started but took the male into custody. 

A caricature artist described the other person suspected of the shooting, seeing him maybe 10 yards away, as a young man in his late teens or early 20s wearing a black jumpsuit. He said the man was spraying bullets using one hand to hold what looked like a handgun with an extended clip on its handle.

People running from the shooting hid behind vendor carts and stalls and trees. They dropped to the ground, and hundreds ran into nearby restaurants and businesses who took them in and kept them safe. 

How are city leaders reacting to the shooting? Why are they facing criticism?

Five hours passed between the shooting and the first statement by officials alerting the public that one of the shooters was on the loose. 

Police said a shooting had started and that they were investigating within 30 minutes of the shooting, but nothing more was publicly stated until the news conference five hours later, leaving the public in a void filled by rumors and confusion.

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During that time, no alert went out on the city’s AlertSeattle emergency alert system, and Mayor Katie Wilson incorrectly announced that two suspects were in custody. She later corrected the mistake and said she didn’t believe it would have been appropriate to use AlertSeattle.

While media waited for hours for a briefing, police public information officers indicated that the briefing was delayed while the mayor waited for the arrival of “dignitaries.” When it finally began around 11 p.m., Gov. Bob Ferguson and U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal appeared alongside city officials.

Ferguson and Jayapal said Monday they weren’t notified about the briefing until just after 10 p.m. Sunday, and Wilson denied Monday that waiting on them was the hold up.

Police Chief Shon Barnes was out of town at a National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives conference in Dallas when the shooting occurred. He flew in overnight to attend Monday’s news briefing but got into a tense confrontation with a journalist when asked about his absence.