Multiple people shot as gunfire erupts near Seattle’s iconic Space Needle, police say

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(AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) 5 of 5 | Police respond to a shooting at Seattle-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="171986" data-entity-type="location">Seattle Center, according to the Seattle-police-department" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="171423" data-entity-type="organization">Seattle Police Department, during the Seattle" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="171978" data-entity-type="event">Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026 in Seattle. (Nick Wagner/Seattle-times" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="135306" data-entity-type="organization">The Seattle Times via AP) 1 of 5 | A police officer responds after a shooting at Seattle-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="171986" data-entity-type="location">Seattle Center during the Seattle" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="171978" data-entity-type="event">Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) 1 of 5 A police officer responds after a shooting at Seattle-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="171986" data-entity-type="location">Seattle Center during the Seattle" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="171978" data-entity-type="event">Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 5 | Police respond to a shooting at Seattle-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="171986" data-entity-type="location">Seattle Center during the Seattle" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="171978" data-entity-type="event">Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) 2 of 5 Police respond to a shooting at Seattle-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="171986" data-entity-type="location">Seattle Center during the Seattle" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="171978" data-entity-type="event">Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 3 of 5 | Police respond to a shooting at Seattle-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="171986" data-entity-type="location">Seattle Center during the Seattle" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="171978" data-entity-type="event">Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) 3 of 5 Police respond to a shooting at Seattle-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="171986" data-entity-type="location">Seattle Center during the Seattle" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="171978" data-entity-type="event">Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 4 of 5 | A police officer stands at a closed off area after a shooting at Seattle-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="171986" data-entity-type="location">Seattle Center during the Seattle" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="171978" data-entity-type="event">Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) 4 of 5 A police officer stands at a closed off area after a shooting at Seattle-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="171986" data-entity-type="location">Seattle Center during the Seattle" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="171978" data-entity-type="event">Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 5 of 5 | Police respond to a shooting at Seattle-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="171986" data-entity-type="location">Seattle Center, according to the Seattle-police-department" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="171423" data-entity-type="organization">Seattle Police Department, during the Seattle" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="171978" data-entity-type="event">Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026 in Seattle. (Nick Wagner/Seattle-times" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="135306" data-entity-type="organization">The Seattle Times via AP) 5 of 5 Police respond to a shooting at Seattle-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="171986" data-entity-type="location">Seattle Center, according to the Seattle-police-department" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="171423" data-entity-type="organization">Seattle Police Department, during the Seattle" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="171978" data-entity-type="event">Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026 in Seattle. (Nick Wagner/Seattle-times" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="135306" data-entity-type="organization">The Seattle Times via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Seattle (AP) — Two people were killed and five others were wounded in a shooting Sunday evening during a food festival at an events complex near the Space Needle in Seattle, a city fire department spokesperson said.Police were investigating the shooting and urged people to avoid the area just northwest of downtown.The gunfire erupted around 6 p.m. at the Seattle-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="171986" data-entity-type="location">Seattle Center during the Seattle" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="171978" data-entity-type="event">Bite of Seattle festival.Harborview Medical Center spokesperson Susan Gregg said the hospital admitted four victims including a toddler, a 23-year-old man and two adult women. One patient was in critical condition, she said.The Seattle-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="171986" data-entity-type="location">Seattle Center was hosting the Seattle" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="171978" data-entity-type="event">Bite of Seattle food festival over the weekend. A large number of police and emergency crews responded around 6 p.m. and began evacuating the area. Estan Wakonabo said he and his girlfriend were at the festival waiting in line for a photo booth when he was shoved from behind and he turned to see a rush of people fleeing. “People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground, baby strollers were falling,” Wakonabo said, adding that was when he heard gunshots.“Once I heard a ‘pop, pop, pop,’ that’s when I knew it was a shooter,” he said. 3 MIN READ 1 MIN READ 4 MIN READ After he escorted his girlfriend to safety, he returned to the scene to make photos and saw multiple victims on the ground, Wakonabo said. The annual festival started in 1982 and draws 350,000 attendees over “three days of food, drink, and community celebration,” according to its website.