Seattle police officers shot and killed a person Tuesday night in the Central District near Jimi Hendrix Park. Police said the person was firing a gun at officers and is believed to have fatally shot one person and critically injured another who were found in a car nearby.
Officers responded to the 2300 block of South Massachusetts Street about 9:15 p.m. after receiving reports of shots fired, Assistant Police Chief Deanna Nollette said at a news conference at the scene.
When officers pulled up outside the Northwest African American Museum, Nollette said they heard shots and saw someone come around the corner of the parking lot and begin firing at them.
Officers returned fire, hitting and killing the shooting suspect, she said. When they made their way to the museum parking lot, they found two other people with multiple gunshot wounds, she said.
One died while on the way to the hospital, police said. The condition of the second was not known Wednesday.
Few additional details were released Wednesday, and officials did not publicly identify either of the people who were killed.
Nollette said police believe the person who was shot by police might have lived in the neighborhood and had “some sort of a relationship” with the two people he is believed to have shot.
The Force Investigation Team will investigate the police shooting. Representatives of the Office of Police Accountability and the Office of Inspector General responded to the scene.
As is standard policy, the department said it would release video of the police response and shooting within 72 hours.