2 dead, child wounded in Seattle shootings

SEATTLE – Two men were killed and a child was shot early Sunday in Seattle’s Sodo neighborhood, police said.

It’s unknown whether the homicides are connected.

Officers found man with a gunshot wound to the chest and a child who was shot in the leg around 4:10 a.m. near First Avenue South and South Dakota Street, according to a blotter post.

Both were transported to Harborview Medical Center, where the man later died. The child was expected to survive, according to police.

An “involved man” was taken to Seattle police headquarters for questioning, according to police. It was unclear whether that person was considered a suspect. Investigators recovered guns at the scene.

Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes said in a statement Sunday that the shooting was connected to an “unauthorized and unregulated gathering.”

Police spokesperson Detective Eric Muñoz said he could not elaborate on the nature of the gathering.

Another man was killed around 6:05 a.m., over a mile-and-a-half to the north, near the 400 block of South Massachusetts Street, Seattle police said in another blotter post. The man suffered several gunshot wounds, police said.

Investigators found a crashed and unoccupied sports car with “considerable damage” at Fourth Avenue South and Massachusetts, next to the man. He died at the scene.

No suspects were in custody as of Sunday morning in the second shooting.

Muñoz said he could not say whether the two shootings were connected.

Police asked anyone with information about either shooting to call the Seattle police Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000.

Barnes’ statement also condemned recent gun violence in the city, including the unsolved shooting in front of a U District church that killed a 28-year-old man.

“We want to reassure the community that we are committed to preventing further incidents of gun violence,” Barnes said. “Achieving this goal requires collaboration between the criminal justice system and the community.”