Search on for gunman in shooting near Franklin High School

SEATTLE — Police continue to search for a teen gunman wanted in connection with a shooting Friday near Franklin High School that left a young man with life-threatening injuries.

Witnesses reported hearing at least a half-dozen gunshots and seeing the victim on the ground at McClintock Avenue South and South Byron Street, a block south of the high school.

Police said the victim is a man in his late teens to mid-20s.  A Fire Department tweet said he is between 18 and 20 years old.

The man suffered a gunshot wound to the chest, and he was taken to Harborview Medical Center. His condition is unknown at this time.

Police believe the suspect or suspects jumped into a car and fled the scene following the shooting. They are searching for an Asian or Hispanic boy between 15 and 16 years old, who was wearing a blue jacket and backpack.

Neighbors told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Deborah Horne that the shooting wasn’t a surprise.

“I heard them arguing. I couldn’t really distinguish what they were saying, but I heard that it was over marijuana,” said a neighbor. “Shortly after that, I heard gunshots.”

Chanze Dunlap also heard the gunshots a block away.

“And I heard, ‘Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop!’” said Dunlap. “It sounded like a full click, almost, you know. And ah, we were kind of both shocked.”

A resident who lived in the area for a long time believes teens congregate each day in an area where the shooting occurred.

“These are nickel bags that I’ve collected off my street corner just in the last couple of months,” said the resident.

Another neighbor, who has complained  to the Seattle Police Department and to Franklin High School, showed KIRO 7 bags left behind with traces of marijuana.

“But we’re all afraid to really talk to them because they don’t have any respect for us as property owners,” said the neighbor. “The school tells us they can’t do anything about it because it’s not on school property. And how do we know that they’re school kids? But we know they’re school kids because we see them going back and forth to the school. We are afraid, and of course, we’re afraid of getting shot.”

Friday’s shooting has intensified the neighbors’ unease.

Police notified the staff at  Franklin High School about the incident.

KIRO