One man killed in Seattle’s CHOP area

SEATTLE» A pre-dawn shooting in a park in Seattle’s protest zone killed a 19year-old man and critically injured another person, authorities said Saturday.

The shooting happened at about 2:30 a.m. in the area near the city’s downtown that is known as CHOP, which stands for “Capitol Hill Occupied Protest,” police said.

Officers responding to the shooting initially had trouble getting to the scene because they were “were met by a violent crowd that prevented officers safe access to the victims,” police said on their blog.

Two males with gunshot wounds arrived in a private vehicle at Harborview Medical Center at about 3 a.m., said hospital spokesperson Susan Gregg. The 19-year-old man died and the other person was in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

The suspect or suspects fled and investigators had no description of the shooter or shooters as of Saturday morning, police said.

“Homicide detectives responded and are conducting a thorough investigation, despite the challenges presented by the circumstances,” police said.

Investigators were reviewing public-source video and body-camera video for clues, Seattle Police Sgt. Lauren Truscott told The Seattle Times.

The CHOP zone is an area where protesters cordoned off several blocks near a police station in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood following demonstrations against police violence since the police killing of George Floyd.