17-year-old shot during Wild Waves 'Fright Fest'

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — A suspect is on the loose after opening fire at the Wild Waves Theme Park on Friday night.

A 17-year-old was badly hurt. The park's "Fright Night" turned frighteningly real.

In the light of this sunny Saturday after the shooting, business was brisk at Wild Waves Theme Park in Federal Way.

"It's a bit of a distance," said Amber Nurse, "and we do it every year."

But this is the first year Nurse has driven here from Marysville aware that the night before, this was a crime scene.

"It's sad with all these shootings lately," Nurse said. "And you know kids are just trying to have a great time."

"Fright Fest" took a terrifying turn just as the theme park was closing Friday night.

Eyewitnesses say two groups seemed to be antagonistic toward each other most of the night.  Just before 11 p.m., their feud turned violent in the parking lot.

"They came walking into my room and, like, 'Boy, hey, by chance did you hear those pops?,' " said Skyler Meek. "I'm, like, 'yeah.'"

Meek says he and his fellow haunted house actors were ushered to safety.

"Very much a sense of urgency," Meek said, "very much a sense of just fear that maybe one of us could have been, I don't know, in harm's way."

In a statement, Wild Waves said Federal Way police were here as they always are and acted quickly.

A 17-year-old was critically injured, shot in the head. The suspect escaped in the chaos. And even on this busy day after, the shooting cast a pall.

"It's a little disheartening that this is the times we're now in," Nurse said. "But want to protect the kids and still have fun at the same time. It doesn't keep us from having fun. In these cases, to me, the shooters will never win."

The people at Wild Waves say they use metal detectors for anyone who goes into the park.  But they don't search people in the parking lot.

Harborview Medical Center says the teenager is in the intensive care, in serious condition.

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