One suspect has been arrested and another is being sought after three people were killed in a shooting at a crowded food festival in the US city of Seattle, police said.Assistant chief Tyrone Davis said detectives do not have any description of the outstanding suspect.
Investigators in Washington state believe the two suspects were shooting at each other and there is no ongoing threat to the public.
The gunfire erupted at around 6pm local time (2am BST) in the waning hours of the Bite of Seattle, an annual festival that draws hundreds of food and retail vendors and performers.
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Three people died and four others who were injured are in stable condition in hospital, officials said.
A two-year-old boy was among the wounded and the rest were adults, according to Grace Nuñez, a spokesperson for the Seattle fire department.
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Hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg said the victims suffered injuries to the arm, abdomen or legs.
A large number of police and emergency crews responded and began evacuating the area around the sprawling Seattle Centre events campus. Authorities have not said where exactly the shooting occurred at the event, which had outdoor and indoor areas.
Washington governor Bob Ferguson said he was receiving briefings and State Patrol Swat officers were deployed to assist local police.
“My prayers are with the families of the victims, and the responders as they work to keep people safe,” Mr Ferguson said in a statement.
In the chaos of the shooting, many vendors bolted toward the exits, abandoning their food stands. Hours afterwards, some milled outside the police tape, wondering when they would be allowed to return to collect their tents, food and cooking gear.
Roberto Ramirez, a vendor at the event, said he heard what sounded like firecrackers before people began yelling “shooter” and frantically running.
“Suddenly everything was empty,” he said. “People were freaked out.”
The annual festival started in 1982 and draws 350,000 attendees over “three days of food, drink, and community celebration”, according to its website.
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