3 killed, 6 wounded in mass shooting at hookah lounge in Seattle
Three people are dead and six others wounded after a shooting Sunday at a hookah lounge in south Seattle, authorities said.
City police didn't immediately release any information about a possible suspect or suspects in the Sunday's early morning shooting in the Mount Baker neighborhood.
Officers responded to the scene around 4:30 a.m. Sunday after receiving multiple 911 calls, police said.
A 22-year-old man and a 33-year-old man died at the scene, and a 30-year-old woman died at Harborview Medical Center, officials said. The names of the victims weren't immediately released.
Of the six people wounded, a 23-year-old man was in critical condition and the other five were in satisfactory condition, police said. They ranged in age from 21 to 38, officials said.
This is not the first time a shooting has happened near this business, CBS affiliate KIRO-TV reported.
Two people have been shot and killed in South Seattle. https://t.co/MN8zEKygmI
— KIRO 7 (@KIRO7Seattle) August 21, 2023
"I am aware of an incident of shots fired, that occurred the night before outside the establishment but on that same block," said police chief Adrian Diaz during a press conference. "But I don't know if it is related to the actual hookah lounge."
Police are still investigating what led to the shooting. Five guns were recovered at the scene, police said.
"The growing concern is how many guns are being fired in these cases," Diaz said, according to KIRO-TV. "People pulling out and having a disregard for life."
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said in a statement that even as Seattle police "keeps up a rapid and record pace of recovering guns – 869 through July – there are still more illegal guns in the wrong hands that could be used to incite another tragedy like this one."