Three people were killed and four others wounded in gunfire at the Bite of Seattle food festival, prompting police to detain a 15-year-old boy while searching for at least one additional suspect. Investigators said the shooting may have involved two groups exchanging fire.
The dead were identified as Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, 44; Ashley Whitehead, 56; and Junior Cee Niko Semo, 19. Police said Semo was one of the shooters. Two victims died at Seattle Center, and a third died after being taken to a hospital.
Court documents said investigators believed at least three people fired weapons: the detained teenager, the 19-year-old who died and an unidentified suspect. Assistant Police Chief Nicole Powell said detectives were examining whether the exchange was gang-related. That remained an investigative theory rather than an established motive.
Four wounded people included a two-year-old boy who was with his mother. He remained in satisfactory condition on Monday. Two men, aged 23 and 27, and a 39-year-old woman were discharged from hospitals. Police said at least seven people, and possibly eight, were caught in the crossfire.
Officers responded shortly after 6 p.m. as the free festival drew large crowds to Seattle Center. Witnesses described hearing repeated shots and seeing people run, duck or push down a fence to escape. Video showed some attendees sheltering in the Space Needle gift shop. Police recovered two firearms at the scene.
The 15-year-old surrendered there and was booked into juvenile detention for investigation of firearms violations and first-degree assault. A judge ordered him held while the King County prosecutor's office awaited the police case for a charging decision. No one had been formally arrested on suspicion of homicide at the time of the supplied report.
The distinction matters because detention and an investigative booking are not convictions. Police still had to determine which weapon fired each round, which participants struck the victims and whether another shooter remained at large. Authorities said there was no continuing public threat but asked witnesses and people with recordings to come forward.
The Bite of Seattle brings food vendors and entertainment to a 74-acre campus that includes the Space Needle and major arena. Its crowded setting magnified the danger and complicated the immediate evacuation. Federal and regional agencies joined local responders after the shooting.
Mayor Katie Wilson called the violence horrific and said the city would explain what investigators learned. The verified record established three deaths, four hospitalized survivors, a detained juvenile and a multi-shooter theory, while motive, individual responsibility and final charges remained unresolved.
