A mass casualty shooting erupted at the Bite of Seattle festival at Seattle Center on Sunday evening, leaving multiple people injured and triggering widespread panic.
Gunfire broke out around 6 p. m.
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near Harrison Street and 5th Avenue North, where thousands had gathered for the annual food festival.
A reporter at the scene heard loud pops followed by rapid gunshots near Climate Pledge Arena.
Harborview Medical Center implemented a lockdown Sunday night due to a surge in emergency activity and incoming victims from the incident.
The Seattle Center Monorail suspended operations for the remainder of the day.
Eyewitness Accounts of Chaos
Grey Oliver, a retail vendor stationed near the intersection, was inside the festival perimeter when the shooting began.
"It was less like one, two, three and more like all at once," Oliver said.
He described parents desperately pulling children from strollers while festivalgoers rushed toward exits, leaving children crying in the panic.
Oliver called it a "family friendly event with good vibes."
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Estan Wakonabo, a 25-year-old attendee, was with his girlfriend when shots rang out near crowded vendor lines.
"It was just pure chaos," Wakonabo said.
He noted people trampling each other to escape and later saw several gunshot victims on the ground, including a body covered with a yellow sheet near the T-Mobile tent.
Paul Skinner, a 47-year-old food vendor, was returning to his booth when he heard loud pops.
"I just heard what sounded like what were some pretty loud fireworks at first," Skinner said. As panic spread, he directed his staff to take cover.
"Then, the energy changed. Mobs of people started flooding back down.
I just told our staff to get down," Skinner said.
Authorities responded to the mass casualty incident and instructed the public to avoid the entire Seattle Center campus.
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The festival, which drew 282,000 visitors during its three-day run the previous year, was thrown into chaos as crowds fled and vendors shut down operations.
