Police chief resigns days after deadly shooting in US city of Seattle

Shon Barnes steps down amid questions over authorities’ handling of the shooting at a popular food festival.Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes has resigned less than a week after a deadly shooting at one of the US city’s largest summer festivals as questions have mounted over the authorities’ handling of its aftermath.Mayor Katie Wilson announced Barnes’s resignation on Thursday and named Deputy Chief Andre Sayles, a police officer with more than two decades of law enforcement experience, as interim chief.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US school shooter pleads guilty in Georgia following father’s convictionlist 2 of 4Father of Georgia Apalachee school shooter sentenced to 15 years in prisonlist 3 of 4Vendor’s livestream captures chaos as gunfire erupts at Seattle Centerlist 4 of 4Three killed in suspected shootout in US city of Seattle, police sayend of listThe move came after three people were killed and four injured, including a two-year-old boy, in a shootout on Sunday at the annual Seattle" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="171978" data-entity-type="event">Bite of Seattle food festival.Dozens of police officers were already providing security at the event, and court documents said at least one officer saw a 15-year-old suspect firing into the crowd and quickly persuaded him to surrender. Police are still searching for at least one other suspect.The shooting unfolded while Barnes was attending a law enforcement conference outside the city in the northwestern state of Washington.While Wilson praised officers’ response at the scene, saying it likely saved lives, she said the city’s communication with the public in the hours that followed fell short.Police posted about the shooting on social media shortly after it began but then went nearly five hours without providing another public update, leaving residents uncertain about whether there was an ongoing threat. The city also failed to send alerts through its emergency notification system while Wilson herself mistakenly announced that two suspects had been taken into custody before later retracting the statement.