RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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SEATTLE, Washington (AP) — A shooting killed two people and wounded five, including a child, on Sunday evening during a popular food festival near the Space Needle in Seattle, a city fire department spokesperson said.
The gunfire erupted around 6 p.m. at the Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle festival. Police were investigating the shooting and urged people to avoid the area just northwest of downtown.
Two people died at the scene, said Grace Nuñez, spokesperson for the Seattle Fire Department.
Five patients were transported to Harborview Medical Center, including a 56-year-old woman in serious condition, Nuñez said.
A 2-year-old boy, a 23-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman are in stable condition, while a 40-year-old woman had minor injuries, she said.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said two suspects have been taken into custody following the incident. The motive was not immediately clear.
Wilson said in a statement that she wanted to "thank the Seattle police officers who responded to the scene and took two suspects into custody."
Vendor booths lined the sprawling Seattle Center outdoor events complex while thousands of people sampled various cuisines and played games. A large number of police and emergency crews responded and began evacuating the area.
Faith Adia Hunter said she and her friends had just gotten food from a crepe vendor when gunfire broke out. She realized the shooter was near them.
"We were right next to him when it started so we took off running," Hunter said. "So we took off running too into the building with the crowd."
Hunter said she and others found shelter in the nearby Seattle Children's Museum.
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.
After he escorted his girlfriend to safety, he returned to the scene to take 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.
The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident – ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded – I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.
There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.
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