The bullets that fatally struck two bystanders during a shootout at a Seattle food festival last weekend do not appear to have come from the gun fired by a 15-year-old arrested at the scene, police confirmed in court documents filed on Wednesday — a development that suggests other unidentified shooters were responsible for the deaths.
The violence erupted on Sunday during the final hours of the Bite of Seattle, a popular three-day outdoor food festival held at Seattle Center in the heart of the city. Authorities say the shooting was gang-related, with shell casings recovered at the scene indicating that four separate weapons were discharged. Three people died in total: two bystanders caught in the crossfire and a 19-year-old suspect killed in the gunbattle. At least four others were wounded, including a two-year-old boy. A person with a possible gunshot wound later checked themselves into a Seattle hospital but left before investigators could speak with them; police chief Shon Barnes has publicly asked that individual to come forward.
The arrested teenager was filmed firing an untraceable "ghost gun" — a privately assembled, unserialled firearm that is difficult for law enforcement to trace — into the crowd. Police say that as officers escorted him past the body of the 19-year-old suspect who had been killed, the teen said, "Love you bro," suggesting a prior connection between the two. Investigators are still working to identify at least one other person involved in the shooting, and have been reviewing surveillance footage and interviewing witnesses. Barnes noted the concentrated nature of gang violence in the city: "We have small groups that appear to be at odds with each other, and in our city 0.01% of the population is connected to 52% of our shootings."
The King County prosecutor's office has charged the 15-year-old with first-degree assault with a firearm enhancement and unlawful possession of a handgun by someone under 18, and is seeking to try him as an adult — a process that can take months as a judge weighs arguments from both sides. If convicted in adult court, he could face eight to ten years in prison, with a possible additional five years for the firearm enhancement. A conviction in juvenile court would carry a sentence of roughly two to two-and-a-half years. Notably, Washington state judges retain the discretion to impose a juvenile sentence even when a case is tried in adult court.
The ballistics finding complicates the investigation significantly, raising urgent questions about who fired the shots that killed the two bystanders and how many other participants in the gunfight remain unaccounted for. The case has drawn renewed attention to gun violence at public events and the challenge American cities face in prosecuting gang-related shootings when multiple weapons and suspects are involved.