Six young people were shot to death early Saturday in
Seattle at a home, apparently at a party, and the alleged gunman committed
suicide when confronted by police, authorities said.
Three other victims were taken to a hospital after the shootings
in the Capitol Hill neighborhood east of downtown, said US police
spokesman Rich Pruitt. Two of the three were in critical condition, he said.
"It's one of the largest crime scenes the city has ever had," said Police
Chief Gil Kerlikowske.
He said the victims' bodies were found in several places in the house.
Police believe the shooting happened at a party and the dead were all in
their early 20s, authorities said. At least a dozen other people were in the
house at the time, officials said.
Kerlikowske said an officer in the neighborhood heard shots fired at just
after 7 a.m. When Officer Steve Leonard reached the scene, he found one person
staggering out of the house with a gunshot wound.
The officer confronted another man who emerged with a shotgun, telling him
several times to put the weapon down, Kerlikowske said. The man turned the gun
on himself and fired a fatal shot, he said.
Officers then found the other victims inside the home, he said.
They did not believe the gunman lived in the area.
Kerlikowske said police found a variety of other guns at and near the scene.
William Lowe, 59, who lives across the street, said he heard six shots
shortly after his alarm went off and looked out in time to see people scattering
from the home, some with faces painted and hair dyed.
Lowe said he saw the man with the shotgun put the barrel in his mouth and
fire.
Aaron Hoyle, 25, of Renton, said about five people in or around their 20s
lived in the house and that some were promoters of warehouse parties. Hoyle
hadn't been to the home in about three months, but heard about the shooting on
the news and came to see if his friends were all right. By late morning, he
still didn't know.