SEATTLE — Police searched for a second suspect Monday after gunfire erupted at a crowded food festival beneath Seattle’s Space Needle, leaving three people dead and four others wounded, including a toddler. Another suspect was arrested earlier.
Investigators believe the two suspects were shooting at each other and, although one remained on the loose, Seattle Assistant Police Chief Tyrone Davis told a news conference Sunday night that there was no ongoing threat to the public.
Police did not have a description of the outstanding suspect, he said.
“We’re still trying to figure this out,” Davis said. Police did not immediately respond to phone and email messages early Monday.
A first court appearance for the person arrested was anticipated Monday afternoon, said Casey McNerthney, a spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Two people died at the scene and a third died at a hospital. They were described as two men, ages 19 and 44, and a 56-year-old woman.
The four wounded, including a 2-year-old boy, were hospitalized. The boy was in satisfactory condition Monday. The others — two men, ages 23 and 27, and a woman, 39, were discharged, a hospital spokesperson said.
Davis couldn’t say if any of the victims were involved in the confrontation.
Vendors who fled, abandoning their food booths, were cleaning up Monday. A candlelight vigil was planned Monday night at the center’s International Fountain.
The gunfire erupted around 6 p.m. Sunday in the waning hours of the Bite of Seattle, an annual three-day festival that draws hundreds of food and retail vendors and performers.
Dozens of officers were providing security at the event and some saw one of the suspects firing, Davis said. One suspect surrendered at the scene, but the other fled.
A large number of police and emergency crews responded and began evacuating the area around the sprawling Seattle Center campus.
Faith Adia Hunter said she and her friends had just gotten food from a crepe vendor when gunfire broke out.
“We were about to start eating, then heard someone yell something, then we saw people start to run,” Hunter said. “So we took off running, too.”
“We were right next to him when it started, so we took off running,” Hunter added.
Hunter said that in the scramble to find safety, she and others ran into the nearby Seattle Children’s Museum.
In the chaos, many vendors bolted toward the exits, abandoning their food stands. Hours later, some milled outside the police tape, wondering when they would be allowed to collect their tents, food and cooking gear.
Roberto Ramirez, a vendor at the event, said he heard what sounded like firecrackers before people began yelling “shooter” and frantically running.
“Suddenly everything was empty,” he said. “People were freaked out.”
After the initial panic, new guests continued to arrive unaware of what had happened and were told by police to leave, he said.
Estan Wakonabo said he and his girlfriend were waiting in line for a photo booth when he was shoved from behind and turned to see a rush of people fleeing.
“People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground, baby strollers were falling,” Wakonabo said, adding that was when he heard gunshots.
“Once I heard a ‘pop, pop, pop,’ that’s when I knew it was a shooter,” he said.
After he escorted his girlfriend to safety, he returned to the scene to take photos and saw multiple victims on the ground, Wakonabo said.
The festival started in 1982 and draws 350,000 attendees, according to its website.
Associated Press journalists Manuel Valdes and Lindsey Wasson in Seattle, Annika Wolters in Bangkok and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
