Three women were injured in a shooting in North Seattle, in an attack that police are now investigating as they search for the person responsible. According to investigators, all three of the victims are expected to recover from their injuries. The shooting unfolded overnight and drew a heavy police response, with detectives working the scene into the morning as they pieced together what happened and tried to determine who opened fire on the women.
Police say the three women were sitting in their car on 96th Street when the violence erupted. According to detectives, another vehicle, a dark sedan, pulled in front of them, and someone got out of that car and opened fire. Investigators say the shooter fired more than 20 rounds at the three women as they sat inside their vehicle, turning an ordinary moment on a residential street into a sudden and terrifying barrage of gunfire.
The first 911 calls came in around midnight, as the sound of the shooting echoed through the neighborhood. Investigators describe it as a very violent and loud night on the block. By the time police officers arrived at the scene, however, the shooter was already long gone, having fled after unloading the rounds. That left detectives with a scene full of evidence but without the gunman, who remained at large as the investigation got underway.
Rather than wait at the scene for help, the three women made their way to UW Medical Center on their own. From there, one of the women was later transferred to Harborview Medical Center with multiple gunshot wounds, indicating she had been struck directly by the gunfire. The other two women were hurt by shattered glass, wounded as the rounds tore through the car around them, though their injuries were not described as life-threatening.
Back at the scene on 96th Street, detectives set about collecting evidence that could help them identify the shooter. Investigators recovered about 22 shell casings from the area, a count that underscores just how many rounds were fired during the attack. The sheer number of casings left behind points to a sustained burst of gunfire directed at the women's car, and each one is a potential piece of the puzzle for investigators.
With the shooter still unaccounted for, police have turned their full attention to the hunt for whoever carried out the attack. Detectives have been walking 96th Street, and they note that almost every business on the block has a surveillance camera pointing near where they believe the shooting took place. That footage could prove crucial, as investigators work to track down the dark sedan and the person who stepped out of it and opened fire on the three women.