Three people killed and one suspect at large in Bite of Seattle food festival shooting | Seattle

Three people were killed and four others, including a toddler, were injured in a shooting during a food festival Sunday evening at an events complex near Seattle’s Space Needle, a city fire department spokesman said.

A suspect was arrested following the deadly violence, and the search for a second suspect continued into Monday, according to authorities. Neither suspect was identified and there was no immediate comment on the person at large.

Investigators believe the two suspects shot at each other, Seattle Deputy Police Chief Tyrone Davis told reporters at a news conference Sunday night. Although one was released, there is no ongoing threat to the public, Davis said.

Seattle Center was hosting the Bite of Seattle food festival over the weekend.

Following the conflict, two people died at the scene and the third person died in the hospital. It was stated that the people in question were two men, aged 19 and 44, and a woman, aged 56.

The four injured people, including a two-year-old boy, were taken to hospital and all were in stable condition Monday, police said.

The shooting in Bite of Seattle is among more than 270 mass shootings in the U.S. throughout the year, as of Monday morning. Gun Violence Archive.

The nonpartisan source defines mass shootings as incidents in which four or more victims are injured or killed. Victims in some of these cases were subjected to deliberate, targeted attacks; But the fact that many of them are also unintentional bystanders reveals the reality of gun violence in the United States.

There are numerous mass shootings in the United States each year, leading many to call for more comprehensive federal gun control. However, Congress did not enforce such restrictions.

The gunfire erupted around 6 p.m. Sunday, late in the day at an annual summer weekend festival of hundreds of food and retailers and performers.

Officers providing security at the event saw one of the suspects shoot, Davis said. While one of the suspects surrendered at the scene, the other escaped. The search for the second suspect in the festival area did not yield any results.

Police and emergency crews then evacuated the area around the sprawling Seattle Center campus.

Faith Adia Hunter told the Associated Press that she and her friends were buying food from a crepe vendor when gunshots rang out. He realized there was a shooter nearby. He and others took shelter at the nearby Seattle Children’s Museum.

“We were right next to it when it started, so we started running towards the building with the crowd,” Hunter said.

Roberto Ramirez, a vendor at the event, said he heard what sounded like fireworks before people started shouting “shooter” and running wildly.

“All of a sudden everything went blank,” he said. “People were horrified.”

Many vendors abandoned the food stalls and rushed towards the exits. Hours later, some were wondering when they would be allowed to step outside the police strip and return to collect their tents, food and kitchenware.

Ramirez said that after the initial panic, new guests continued to arrive for a while, that he was unaware of what was happening and that they were told to leave by the police.

Estan Wakonabo said he and his girlfriend were waiting in line for a photo booth at the festival when he was pushed from behind and saw a stream of people running away.

“People were hiding, people were pushing, people were falling down, baby strollers were falling down,” Wakonabo said as she heard the gunshots.

“When I heard ‘pop, pop, pop’ I knew it was a shooter.”

After escorting his girlfriend to safety, Wakonabo said he returned to the scene and saw multiple victims on the ground.

Seattle’s Bite began in 1982 and attracted approximately 350,000 people over three days.