SEATTLE — Seattle police said they have identified and want to talk to two men in connection with the shooting death of International District icon Donnie Chin.
"We have identified two people who were in the vicinity at the time of the shooting, they were definitely involved in some of the violence down there,” said police chief Kathleen O’Toole.
One of the two men was taken into custody for a Department of Corrections issue, which is unrelated to the Donnie Chin Case.
Police said the two men were in the vicinity the night of the shooting.
Chief Kathleen O’Toole said during a Thursday night news conference that it is too early to say the role the two individuals had in the case.
Police are not calling the two men persons of interest or suspects at this point.
Chin, the director of the International District Emergency Center, went to a reported dispute between two groups around 3 a.m. July 23. He was shot three times and died at Harborview Medical Center.
"I do remember times when we called 911 and there was some sort of emergency, and Donnie was first on the scene,” said Karen Sakata, who runs a restaurant in the International District.
She remembers Chin as the presence that everyone felt comforted to see.
That presence has been missing ever since Chin's murder on the morning of July 23.
It’s why news of some progress in the case is so welcome.
"I'm relieved, and I feel like some justice will be served,” said Sakata.
>> See photos from the early-morning scene here
A police spokesman said Chin did not appear to be the intended target.
"We lost a hero today," King County Executive Dow Constantine said in a statement the day that Chin was killed. "Donnie Chin dedicated himself to patrolling the streets of the Chinatown/International District and protecting the vulnerable and frail. His loss hits at the very heart of our community. Our hearts go out to his friends and loved ones, and to the many people whose lives he touched.”
Click here to read details about the Chin case.