SEATTLE — Two more people have been shot, one fatally, in the fourth shooting in 10 days within the boundaries of the free-protest zone set up near downtown Seattle amid a national wave of protests over police violence.
The latest shooting, at about 3 a.m. on Monday, has accelerated tensions over what happens next in the protest area, known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone, or CHOP.
One victim arrived at Harborview Medical Center 3:30 a.m. from the CHOP area, transported there by Seattle Fire Department medics, and died in the hospital. Another man, taken to the hospital in a private vehicle, remained in critical condition in intensive care, said a spokeswoman for Harborview. Names and ages of the men have not been released.
The violence, with a total of six people shot in an area of the city known in the past as a party corner of Seattle, noted for its bars, restaurants and colorful student-infused street life, has raised new questions over what happens next.
The city has said it wants a return to normal in the occupied protest zone, and a reopening of the Police Department’s East Precinct, which was boarded up and abandoned as residents of the several-block area were left to police themselves. Work crews with heavy equipment arrived on Friday to begin taking down barriers that were set up by protestors after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in late May. But work was halted to avoid a confrontation.
Mayor Jenny Durkan, a former United States attorney under President Obama, has been criticized from both the left and right for her handling of the protests and the situation in the CHOP in particular. At least three members of the nine-member City Council have called for her resignation over the police response to the protests, and President Trump tweeted that Seattle is out of control.
At least one lawsuit has been filed against the mayor and Gov. Jay Inslee, claiming that allowing the CHOP zone to emerge put people living in the area in danger. A crowd of protesters converged on the mayor’s house on Sunday, chanting for her to step down.
The first shooting occurred early on the morning of June 20. A 19-year-old man was shot and transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A 33-year-old man was also shot nearby.
The second shooting occurred the next day. A 17-year-old boy who was shot was treated at Harborview Medical Center and released. Then two days later, the police said they were investigating yet another shooting in the early morning hours near the protest zone, with one person injured.
