Two people have died and five others have been injured after gunfire broke out at a popular food festival near Seattle’s iconic Space Needle.
The shooting happened on Sunday evening at Seattle Center, where thousands of people had gathered for the annual Bite of Seattle festival.
Police rushed to the scene and urged the public to avoid the area while emergency crews treated victims.
A spokesperson for the Seattle Fire Department confirmed two people were killed and five others were wounded in the shooting.
Harborview Medical Center said it received four of the injured, including a toddler, a 23-year-old man and two adult women. One of the patients is in a critical condition.
Festival-goer Estan Wakonabo said he was waiting in line at a photo booth with his girlfriend when panic suddenly spread through the crowd.
‘People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground, baby strollers were falling,’ he said.
‘Once I heard a ‘pop, pop, pop,’ that’s when I knew it was a shooter.’
After helping his girlfriend get to safety, Wakonabo returned to the scene and said he saw several victims lying on the ground.
The annual Bite of Seattle festival has been running since 1982 and attracts around 350,000 visitors across three days.
Police have not yet released details about a suspect or confirmed what may have led to the shooting.
An investigation is ongoing.
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