US: Shooting at Seattle food festival leaves 2 dead, 5 wounded

Two people were killed and five others wounded in a shooting Sunday evening during a food festival at an events complex near the Space Needle in Seattle, a city fire department spokesperson said.

The gunfire erupted around 6 pm at the Seattle Centre during the Bite of Seattle festival. Police were investigating the shooting and urged people to avoid the area just northwest of downtown.

Harborview Medical Centre spokesperson Susan Gregg said the hospital admitted four victims, including a toddler, a 23-year-old man and two adult women. One patient was in critical condition.

A large number of police and emergency crews responded to the scene and began evacuating the area.

Estan Wakonabo said he and his girlfriend were waiting in line for a photo booth when he was shoved from behind and saw a rush of people fleeing.

“People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground, baby strollers were falling,” Wakonabo said, adding that he then heard gunshots.

“Once I heard a 'pop, pop, pop', that's when I knew it was a shooter,” he said.

After escorting his girlfriend to safety, Wakonabo returned to the scene and saw multiple victims on the ground, he said.

The annual Bite of Seattle festival, which began in 1982, draws about 350,000 attendees over three days, according to its website.