Two men’s reported dispute over a woman early Sunday results in one man shooting the other in front of an officer who opened fire on the shooter, Seattle police said.
KIRO 7 was told it happened at the Sinking Ship Garage in Pioneer Square when officers were in the area patrolling for the 2 a.m. bar closings.
Omar Sanchez was riding by on his bike and said he heard two men arguing over a woman. "You know boyfriend get mad and pull out his pistol," said Sanchez.
"This lady, she was getting a little too wild and the other guy got jealous," said Sanchez. "She was flirting around a little too much."
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When the shooter pulled out his weapon and opened fire on the man in front of an officer, the officer shot at the shooter, Seattle police said.
"Yeah, that was a shootout then," Sanchez said. "That's what, that's what that's what I heard. And I was scared. So I took off. I took off."
Detectives told KIRO 7 the suspect shot a 23-year-old man in the leg but was believed to have escaped being hit by the officer, getting away.
In a partying crowd on 3rd Avenue, a block away, was Michelle Marie Raines who heard the gunshots. She told KIRO 7 "Can't tell you how many. It's too many. In that order. Boom, boom, boom, boom!"
A Vietnam War veteran who heard the gunshots, Alfred Juan Callagan, said, "I jumped on the ground. Did what I normally did in Vietnam. Just crawled down and make sure the bullets were flying away."
Callaghan said all of it is worrying. "That was an awakening," he said. "This is happening in downtown Seattle? LA, I could understand. Chicago, I can understand. But this town has changed dramatically."
After Seattle police interviewed the victim, he confirmed the shooting came following a “dispute.”
Police did not say if the victim gave them a description of the suspect.
As is standard procedure, the officer is on paid administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.
Cox Media Group
