Three people were killed early Sunday in a shooting at a Seattle hookah lounge. Photo courtesy of Seattle Police Department
Aug. 21 (UPI) — Three people were killed and six others were wounded in a shooting that erupted over the weekend at a Seattle hookah lounge, authorities said.
The Seattle Police Department identified the victims in a statement as two males and a female, ages undisclosed. Authorities initially said the two males died at the scene, adding later that the female victim, who was among those transported to the Harborview Medical Center, had died at the hospital.
“No place in this country is free from the awful epidemic of gun violence, which once again reverberates here in Seattle,” Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said in a statement.
“My heart is with the victims and every person impacted.”
The shooting began shortly before 4:30 a.m. at the hookah lounge located at South Walker Street and Rainier Avenue South, authorities said, with officers arriving to find three people suffering from gunshot wounds.
While on scene, authorities received multiple reports of gunshot victims arriving at local hospitals.
Of the nine patients, Seattle Fire Department said it provided assistance to four at the scene, which has since been secured by police.
Seattle’s Homicide Unit is leading the investigation.
Early this morning around 4:30 a.m., Seattle FFs and paramedics, along with SPD, responded to a tragic shooting at a hookah lounge in Seattle. This incident at S. Walker St. and Rainier Ave. S. left two adult males and one adult female deceased and six others injured. 1/4 pic.twitter.com/SgEPAP3Z8v— Seattle Fire Dept. (@SeattleFire) August 20, 2023
Through July, Seattle police have recovered a record 869 guns, Harrell said, adding that there are still more illegal firearms “in the wrong hands that could be used to incited another tragedy like this one.”
No arrests have been made, and police have asked anyone with information about the shooting to contact the SDP Violent Crimes Tip Line at (206) 233-5000.
According to The Gun Violence Archive, a non-advocacy organization that keeps a running tally of gun violence in the nation, there have been more than 27,400 gun violence deaths so far this year.