Witnesses described scenes of terror as gunfire tore through Seattle’s popular Bite of Seattle festival, sending panicked crowds scrambling for cover, parents desperately grabbing children and baby strollers toppling as people fled for their lives.
Faith Adia Hunter said she and her friends had just picked up food from a crepe stand when the shooting erupted.
“We were right next to him when it started, so we took off running,” Hunter said. She and dozens of others rushed into the nearby Seattle Children’s Museum to escape the gunfire.
As bullets rang out, vendors abandoned food stalls and fled alongside festivalgoers.
Roberto Ramirez, who was working at the event, said he initially mistook the shots for fireworks before hearing people scream, “Shooter!”
“Suddenly everything was empty,” Ramirez said. “People were freaked out.”
Even after the chaos subsided, Ramirez said new visitors continued arriving at the festival, unaware of the bloodshed, only to be turned away by police.
Estan Wakonabo said he and his girlfriend were waiting for a photo booth when the crowd suddenly surged.
“People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground, baby strollers were falling,” he said.
Moments later, he heard the unmistakable sound of gunfire.
“Once I heard a ‘pop, pop, pop,’ that’s when I knew it was a shooter,” Wakonabo said.
After getting his girlfriend to safety, Wakonabo returned and saw multiple victims lying on the ground.
The shooting erupted around 6 p.m. Sunday during the final hours of the Bite of Seattle, the annual food festival that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Seattle Center beneath the Space Needle.
Police said two suspects are believed to have exchanged gunfire in the crowded festival. One suspect surrendered at the scene, while another remained at large Sunday night.
Assistant Seattle Police Chief Tyrone Davis said investigators do not believe there is an ongoing threat to the public but acknowledged police were still working to determine exactly what happened.
Three people were killed, including one who died after being taken to a hospital. Four others were wounded, including a 2-year-old boy. Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Grace Nuñez said all four survivors were hospitalized in stable condition.
Authorities said dozens of officers were already providing security at the festival when the shooting began. Some witnessed one of the suspects firing, prompting a massive police response as officers evacuated the sprawling festival grounds and searched unsuccessfully for the second suspect.
