SEATTLE — Police are investigating a homicide in North Seattle after a young man was shot and killed at a popular taproom on Lake City Way.
Seattle police said an employee at The Growler Guys and was found dead inside the business Saturday morning.
“I guess I would say that he and his friends, including my son, the rest of them, are about as tight-knit a group of young men that you’ll ever find,” Kelly Dole, the taproom’s owner, told KIRO 7 of the victim. “And he was a key part of that.”
Dole told KIRO 7 the young man who was killed was a beloved staff member nicknamed Q. According to Dole, Q closed down the business Friday night, left and returned several hours later. Dole believes he was followed.
Seattle police said a coworker found Q’s body when they arrived to work just before 9 a.m. on Saturday morning, dead from multiple gunshot wounds.
“It’s an incredibly traumatic thing,” Det. Eric Munoz of the Seattle Police Department said. “I can’t even imagine what the family and this area are going through.”
Dozens of friends, families and coworkers arrived at the taproom to pay their respects to the young man. Inside the business, Seattle police worked to collect evidence and comb through surveillance footage.
Investigators do not yet know who the suspect is or why they did this.
“The circumstances leading up to this shooting are under investigation,” Munoz said. “It is far too early in the investigation to understand what happened. We can’t speak on motive. We don’t have those whys yet.”
Dole said he and his staff are heartbroken at the loss of their friend and coworker, a young man he described as preferring hugs to handshakes and a talented dancer.
He is confident that police will catch the person responsible.
“Mark my words, there is no way this person is going to get away with this,” Dole said.
Dole said the business will be closed through the weekend and possibly longer.
Anyone with information is asked to call SPD’s violent crimes tip line at (206)233-5000.
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