Police: Seattle gunman kills 5, then himself
Seattle police released surveillance photos of a man suspected of killing three people and wounding 2 others at a North Seattle cafe. / KIRO
(CBS/AP) SEATTLE - A gunman killed five people in Seattle on Wednesday - four at a cafe and another in a carjacking - before he apparently shot himself as officers closed in following a citywide manhunt, authorities said.
Both the suspect and one of his victims died after the incident at a local hospital. One man wounded in cafe shooting remains in the hospital. He is in critical but stable condition following surgery earlier in the day.
Police searching for the suspect in the first shooting near the University of Washington also had to respond to another fatal incident near the city's downtown. They say a man killed a woman in an apparent carjacking and fled in a black SUV. Authorities said late Wednesday they believe one man was responsible for both attacks.
"At this time, we feel pretty confident that we have the suspect," said Assistant Seattle Police Chief Nick Metz.
Officers found a black Mercedes SUV believed to be involved in the incident. CBS affiliate KIRO's Chopper 7 could see a black handgun sitting on the driver's seat.
The latest spasm of deadly gun violence to hit the city worried Seattle's leaders and prompted police to consider increasing patrols in high-crime areas. The five deaths bring the number of homicides so far this year to 21, compared with 21 in all of last year.
Gunfire erupted late Wednesday morning at Cafe Racer, a restaurant and music venue north of the University of Washington. The gunman was described as a man in his 30s wearing dark clothes.
Police approach a house in the University district in Seattle close to where a gunman opened fire at a cafe Wednesday, May 30, 2012. They left shortly after.
/ AP Photo/Elaine ThompsonPolice released two photos from inside the cafe, apparently taken from a security camera.
One shows a man walking into the establishment, with a woman nearby reading a book. Another photo shows stools overturned, and the man standing and holding what appears to be a handgun.
Two men died at the scene. A woman and a man from the cafe died at a hospital.
Evan Hill, who lives above the building where the shooting happened, said the cafe was an artists' collective and performance space.
"It's the strangest place to think of a shooting," said Hill, who heard four to five shots. He said he ran to his balcony and called 911, but didn't see a suspect.
On a street corner across from the cafe, friends of the victims gathered by the ivy-covered wall of an apartment building. Some collapsed in grief. The cafe's owner hugged them and commiserated.
Units of police officers marched by with rifles and shotguns, knocking on doors and checking driveways and yards in the neighborhood of single-family, bungalow-style homes, restaurants and businesses.
Assistant Police Chief Jim Pugel said late Wednesday afternoon that a plain-clothes detective spotted the cafe suspect in the southwestern part of the city and called for unformed officers and a SWAT team. As those officers arrived, the man put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger, Pugel said.
During the manhunt, Roosevelt High School, Eckstein Middle School and Greenlake Elementary were locked down, according to the school district.
In the second shooting, the SUV that the gunman fled in was later found, but the suspect remained at large, police said.
In the last month, there have been two random killings in the city.
Last week, a man died when a stray bullet struck him as he and his family drove down a Seattle street. In late April, a woman died of injuries suffered in an apparently random drive-by shooting near downtown.
No arrests have been made in either of those fatalities.
On Saturday, a bystander was wounded near the iconic Space Needle when he was struck by a bullet allegedly fired by a gang member involved in a dispute with another man, authorities said.
Later that night, about 60 shots were fired in drive-by shootings at four houses. No one was hit.
Besides the plan to increase the number of officers on patrol in high-crime areas, police are urging people with information about shootings to come forward.
At a news conference, Mayor Mike McGinn said the spate of violence had "shaken" the city.
"It's going to take our political leaders, coming together, to give our police officers the support and tools they need to do their jobs," McGinn said.
City Councilman Bruce Harrell said leaders needed to consider everything — from changing laws to addressing the culture of violence.
"If we are to be honest, there's no easy fix," he said.
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Guns are a second amendment right for all Americans...even those with mental issues, anger management issues and , yes, even suspected terrorists.
Rather than trying to make it harder to buy guns and ammo at your local Walmart store, Americans should be looking for real solutions to the problem of angry people with guns.
That solution is for EVERYONE to be armed...everywhere.
The best defense against crazy people with guns, hand grenades, and pipe bombs is simple. Everyone should arm themselves with guns, hand grenades and pipe bombs.
Until everyone is walking around with a gun, Americans will never be safe from crazy people with guns.
And where we do have laws...but the mentally insane (like Cho at Virginia tech) are still able to buy guns....let's tighten the laws to make it harder for them to buy
If words would cure our problems, then surely all the laws in the 'GOOD BOOK' would have us covered......but they have not.
I only point this out because people bent on killing will kill with what they can kill with. Ban guns in the US and criminals will make their own guns, their own gun powder just like they do in Africa and Brazil.
Let's face it. Some guns are really weapons of mass destruction.