SEATTLE, WA – JANUARY 22: EMT and Police give first aid to a shooting victim in downtown on January 22, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. As many as seven people have been reportedly injured and police are still searching for the suspect. Chris Porter/Getty Images/AFP
LOS ANGELES — At least one person was killed and five others were critically injured on Wednesday after gunfire broke out in downtown Seattle, near a popular tourist area, police said.
Local media said at least one suspect was being sought in connection with the mass shooting that took place near a McDonalds fast food restaurant, just blocks away from the Pike Place Market.
It was the third shooting in the area in less than two days.
“Officers investigating shooting near 4th and Pine,” the Seattle Police Department said in a tweet. “Multiple victims. The suspect has fled, and police are searching for him. Officers and medics are providing first aid to the injured.”
Local media quoted police chief Carmen Best as saying that one person had been killed and five others, including a child, were critically wounded in the shooting that occurred shortly after 5:00 pm.
Police ordered people to stay out of the area and shut down a subway station as they searched for a suspect.
Tyler Parsons, an employee at Victrola Coffee Roasters, told The Seattle Times that he was working when he suddenly saw victims falling to the ground as shots rang out.
He said several people ran into his shop to seek cover and he saw two victims with gunshot wounds.
“The shooting was just kind of terrifying. Terrifying it’s so close,” he told the paper.