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Shooting reported near 23rd and Union in Seattle's Central District

By Casey McNerthney
By Casey McNerthney

One man was shot after a confrontation near the intersection of 23rd and Union in Seattle’s Central District.

The 50-year-old man was shot shortly before 6:30 p.m and his gunshot wound to the leg was not life threatening, police said.

Officers were not getting a lot of cooperation, and gang unit detectives were investigation, department spokesman Mark Jamieson said.

A detailed suspect description was not immediately available.

Medics were responding to Earl’s Cuts & Style at 1162 23rd Avenue. Jamieson said the shooting was inside a business, but did not specify which one.

KIRO 7 reporter Gary Horcher is at the scene waiting for a police briefing. We will have an update on KIRO 7 News at 11 p.m. Watch with us on TV or use this link for the KIRO 7 livestream.

The intersection of 23rd and Union has been known for high-profile crime incidents. However, in recent years the intersection and the neighborhood is more gentrified.

A modern high-rise apartment building is opening diagonally across the street from Uncle Ike’s and another one is slated for the gas station property directly across from Ike’s.

The intersection of 23rd and Union previously was known for gang activity and high profile incidents.

The man who owned Philly’s Best cheese steak restaurant – where Uncle Ike’s is located now – was killed blocks away in 2003. In 2008, his business partner, Degene Barecha, was fatally shot in the store. A customer also was shot, but survived.

A suspect was convicted of Barecha’s murder. The 2003 case remains unsolved.

In May 2001, Seattle police killed a man who dragged an officer with his car. At a protest about the shooting, then mayor Paul Schell was assaulted with a megaphone by activist James Garrett. The assault broke bones around the mayor’s eye.

In 1996, late University of Washington football star Reggie Rogers was stopped for DUI there. He previously killed three teens in a DUI collision. In October 1964, R&B singer Little Willie John fatally stabbed a man after a fight a block and a half away, at 923 23rd Avenue. John, whose music was covered by The Beatles and James Brown, died four years later in the Walla Walla State Penitentiary.

Information from KIRO 7 Reporter Essex Porter is included in this report.

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