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Officers hurt in downtown Seattle gunfight identified

SEATTLE — The four Seattle police officers who were hurt responding to a robbery and subsequent gunfight in downtown Seattle have been identified.

The suspect who died was identified Friday as Damarius Butts, 19. Police said he was armed with a handgun and fired at police.

>> PHOTOS: Scene of police shooting.

One officer, 30-year-old Hudson Kang, was shot in the chin by a robbery suspect Thursday afternoon.  He remains in Harborview in serious but stable condition, but is improving, according to hospital officials.

A second officer, 42-year-old Elizabeth Kennedy, was shot in the chest, but was saved by her Kevlar vest. She was released from the hospital Thursday night.

Officer Chris Myers, a 27-year veteran, had his hand grazed by a bullet. This is the third officer-involved shooting for Myers. Myers was cleared in both previous shootings by a firearms review board and received the department's Medal of Honor for a fatal Queen Anne shooting on Aug. 30, 2014.

A fourth officer, who was hit in the head with a bottle, is Adam Merritt.

It was a chaotic scene when police were called to a 7-Eleven on First Avenue and Cherry Street near Pioneer Square at 1:18 p.m.

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Reporter Jeff Dubois spoke with the clerk who was at the convenience store when it was robbed.

Danny Yohannsen said corporate officials didn’t want him to talk on camera, but told Dubois the two suspects - a 19-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl --  didn't seem suspicious when they walked into the store.

He said they grabbed about $20 dollars’ worth of beer and food and walked out without paying.

Yohannsen ran after them, but when police said Butts pulled a gun, he backed off, ran back to the store and called 911.

Butts was tackled a few blocks away, but Merritt was hit over the head with a bottle by the 17-year-old girl, who is related to Butts. She was later arrested.

Butts then ran into the entryway of an office building in the 900 block of First Avenue, where he exchanged gunfire with police.

-Read our original breaking coverage of the story here  

He was later found dead inside the building. Police say it's still unclear if he was hit by officer gunfire or if he shot himself.

After detectives interviewed the girl, police later identified a second 19-year-old man they say was also involved in the robbery.  That man was identified as Roberto Saavedra.

Police found Saavedra and arrested him at about 6 p.m. Thursday.

Both Saavedra and the girl had court hearings Friday afternoon. The 17-year-old girl waived her right to appear and was held as a public safety risk in the third-degree assault and first-degree robbery case -- both felonies. Family at the hearing didn't answer questions from KIRO 7.