Police have said that at least three people opened fire at the Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival. One of the victims has been identified as Junior Cee Niko Semo, 19, who was also among one of the shooters. A 15-year-old boy has already been arrested, and police are searching for another suspected gunman.
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Nicole Powell, the Seattle Police Department’s assistant chief of investigations, said at a news conference Monday afternoon, July 27, that investigators believe the shooting may have been gang-related. Two groups may have fired at each other.
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The King County Medical Examiner’s Office said that Semo had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, per KOMO News.
On Monday, July 27, a King County judge ordered the 15-year-old suspect to remain in secure detention. Judge Tanya L. Thorp found probable cause for three counts of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. The teen waived his appearance in court.
Thorp has ordered that the teenager have no contact with the victims or Seattle Center.
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Semo, 19, was one of the three people killed at the food festival at a Seattle arena, just a block from the city’s iconic Space Needle. The two other people who were killed, besides Semo, were identified as Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, 44, and Ashley Whitehead, 56, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.
According to officials, all three of them died from gunshot wounds and their deaths have been ruled homicides. Villalba and Semo were pronounced dead at the scene, and Whitehead died later at Harborview Medical Center. All of them were residents of Seattle.
A police report filed with the court stated that detectives believe the 15-year-old suspect and Semo exchanged gunfire during the incident. It said that “at least one other unknown suspect” was also involved in the shootout.
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