Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

PA Images
US

Man killed and teenager in critical condition after shooting in Seattle’s occupied protest zone

It is the second fatal shooting in the area occupied for two weeks by protesters.

ONE MAN HAS been killed and and a teenager wounded in Seattle’s “occupied” protest zone — the second deadly shooting in the area that local officials have vowed to change after business complaints and criticism from Donald Trump.

The violence – just over a week after another shooting in the zone left one person dead and another wounded – was “dangerous and unacceptable”, said Police Chief Carmen Best.

“Enough is enough,” she told reporters. “We need to be able to get back into the area.”

Demonstrators have occupied several blocks around Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct and a park for about two weeks after police abandoned the facility following standoffs and clashes with protesters calling for racial justice and an end to police brutality.

Witnesses reported seeing a white Jeep near one of the makeshift barriers around the protest zone at about 3am today, just before the shooting, a police statement said.

Callers to 911 said several people fired shots into the vehicle and police said two people who were probably the occupants were taken to hospital.

A man was pronounced dead at Harborview Medical Centre, and a 14-year-old male is in critical condition with gunshot injuries.

“Detectives searched the Jeep for evidence, but it was clear the crime scene had been disturbed,” the police statement said.

A 19-year-old man was killed on June 20 and a 33-year-old man was wounded.

Mayor Jenny Durkan said last week that the city would start trying to dismantle what has been named the “Capitol Hill Organised Protest” area. City workers on Friday tried to remove makeshift barriers around the area but stopped their work after demonstrators objected.

Nearby businesses and property owners filed a federal lawsuit against the city last Wednesday, claiming officials had been too tolerant of those who created the zone and have deprived property owners of their rights by allowing the zone to continue.

The business owners said they were not trying to undermine the protesters’ anti-police-brutality and Black Lives Matter messages.

But they said they have suffered because the zone has limited access to their businesses and some owners trying to clean graffiti from their storefronts or attempting to photograph protesters have been threatened.

The president has repeatedly criticised the Seattle protest area and city leaders, saying the zone is run by “anarchists”. 

Your Voice
Readers Comments
35
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

    Leave a commentcancel