Circuit Wire — a daily news update from the Circuit.
At least two people were killed and five others injured in a shooting at Seattle Center on Sunday night, the Associated Press reported. The gunfire broke out while the Bite of Seattle food festival was underway at the downtown events campus.
"Police are investigating a shooting. Multiple shooting victims. Shots fired at the Seattle Center," the Seattle Police Department said in a statement posted to X. The department told the public to avoid the area while officers responded. Officers treated the incident as an active shooter response and later cleared the grounds, KIRO 7 reported.
Witnesses described confusion in the opening seconds, CBS News reported. One attendee said he first thought the sounds were fireworks before the crowd surged past him. Another said she ran with the crowd through a garden area and used the Space Needle to stay oriented while fleeing. A KIRO reporter at the scene saw at least one person receiving CPR.
Police did not release information on the victims, a suspect, or a motive on Sunday night. The department said more information would follow as the investigation develops.
Seattle Center sits one block from the Space Needle and includes Climate Pledge Arena, home of the NHL's Kraken and the WNBA's Storm. The campus is one of the city's busiest public spaces and hosts concerts, sports, and festivals throughout the year. Bite of Seattle, a free-admission event, draws more than 350,000 people across its three-day run. The grounds were filled with festivalgoers when the shooting began.
The Associated Press described the scene as an events complex close to the Space Needle, with multiple victims wounded in a compact area. Emergency crews transported the injured from the site as police secured the campus. The shooting came at the close of a summer weekend that had drawn large crowds to the venue.
Want a weekly roundup of the major stories shaping the security industry? The On The Circuit newsletter is read by more than 12,000 protection professionals.
Spotted something we should cover? Send tips and feedback via circuit-magazine.com.