3 killed, 2 wounded in Seattle shooting; gunman still at large (Bellevue: transplants, violent crime)

[jacobwilliam77]

3 killed, 2 wounded in Seattle shooting; gunman still at large | The Lookout - Yahoo! News

Media outlets are reporting that police are searching for an armed man who shot five people, killing three at a Seattle café on Wednesday.

KIRO-TV reports that the two surviving victims, two men are in critical condition. Of the three victims who died, two men died at the scene and a woman died later at a hospital. One of the men was described as a performance artist who was known as the "godfather of Café Racer. " Both of the men were members of a local band, God's Favorite Beefcake.

Before the shooting, someone reported that a man was making suicidal threats, according to the Seattle Post Intelligencer. Officers aren't sure yet if it has any connection to the shooting.

Schools in the area were put on lockdown as officers went door-to-door within a 10-block radius of the café searching for the suspect.

Police were also investigating the fatal shooting of a woman in a downtown parking lot on Wednesday as part of a suspected carjacking. Authorities don't know if the two shootings are related, according to The Associated Press.

The Seattle PI notes that Seattle has seen an unusual spike in homicides, 15 through Friday, compared to 20 total in each of the previous two years.

[Seacove]

Gunman shot himself on the sidewalk.

[NorthwestRepublic]

probably transplants... no surprise here

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by NorthwestRepublic

probably transplants... no surprise here

Report I read said that he was from Ellensburg, and they spoke to his brother, who was also from there, so... doesn't sound like it. Sorry, not all natives are saints and not all transplants are monsters.

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by 415_s2k

Report I read said that he was from Ellensburg, and they spoke to his brother, who was also from there, so... doesn't sound like it. Sorry, not all natives are saints and not all transplants are monsters.

NWR is sitting in Alaska writing insults and gibberish; he'll make more sense when he's sober.

Unbelievably, the shooter survived shooting himself in the head.

[grammyR]

Once agian some crazy nut job who should never have been sold a gun in the first place. Am moving from Fla to Seattle over the summer. Shootings are way up here too, even worse than Seattle. The only answer has to be gun control. Until some politician has the guts to push for this, then non will get my vote. This guy had 2 semi automatics. Somebody knew he had them and no one told authorities.....business as usual....

[BellevueNative]

Originally Posted by grammyR

Once agian some crazy nut job who should never have been sold a gun in the first place. Am moving from Fla to Seattle over the summer. Shootings are way up here too, even worse than Seattle. The only answer has to be gun control. Until some politician has the guts to push for this, then non will get my vote. This guy had 2 semi automatics. Somebody knew he had them and no one told authorities.....business as usual....

Washington has one of the highest rates of gun ownership - more guns here per capita than Texas - in the US, and yet one of the lowest for gun violence. Guns aren't the problem.

As you know, the majority of gun crimes in this city and around the country are committed by people who did not purchase the gun legally, and therefore did not undergo a background check. They view guns as toys and don't take the responsibility seriously. We already have gun control; problem is the people most likely to commit violent crimes aren't the type to follow any laws, particularly laws that hinder their violent attitudes and behaviors. If they did, we wouldn't have to worry about them committing crimes in the first place.

This guy who murdered these 4 people today supposedly has been arrested multiple times in the past, which means he wouldn't have even passed a background check for a handgun. Which means he got his guns from a private seller or they belong to someone else. Semiautomatics are legal, by the way (your post reads as if you think they're illegal), and there is nothing wrong with someone having several of them as long as it's legal to do so.

[texastrigirl]

Wow. In fact, that is a true statement that WA has more gun owners than in TX per capita. I'm surprised having lived in TX. I know many folks that own guns in TX and very few in WA.

States with the most guns - The Daily Beast

[civic94]

as of now 5 people murdered + the shooter is dead. I dont think any gun laws will protect anybody, I have lived in philadelphia before and buying a gun was extremely easy. I had people on the street come up to me selling a gun.

i'm pretty sure if any person wants a gun illegally, anywhere in America, they can get one if they ask someone that is up to no good to get one for X amount of money.

I'm thinking of moving to another country, as more and more people in America is loosing their jobs and people get desperate. It seems that all over america, cities are having more gun violence. when someone dont have a job, or money, or food, its easier for them to commit bad crimes.

[BellevueNative]

Originally Posted by texastrigirl

Wow. In fact, that is a true statement that WA has more gun owners than in TX per capita. I'm surprised having lived in TX. I know many folks that own guns in TX and very few in WA.

States with the most guns - The Daily Beast

You probably know plenty of people who own guns...you just don't know they do. The people who take it most seriously usually don't flaunt it. Not only do I have a couple of guns, I have my concealed pistol license. But no one would ever suspect it of me, because there's a negative stigma attached to gun owners. There shouldn't be, because all kinds of people own guns. Come down to West Coast Armory in Bellevue and you'll see all kinds of people - men and women - though they'll all be responsible gun users that would probably change your opinion of gun owners.

ETA: The Seattle Times recently published a column called, "Learning to Live in a Well-Armed State" that was all about gun ownership in Washington. Gun ownership has gone up in this state even since that Daily Beast article you posted. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...6_danny25.html

It includes this excerpt:

In March and so far in April, more people have gotten concealed-pistol permits than ever.

It's part of an extraordinary "arming up" of this state that began a few years ago and only seems to be escalating. Since 2009, the number of people licensed to carry here has jumped more than 50 percent, to about 360,000.

Now one in 14 Washington adults is legal to pack concealed heat — nearly triple the rate of the gunslinger state of Texas.