Not in West Seattle, but you should know: Multiple shooting victims at Seattle Pacific University, suspect in custody

4:03 PM: A situation in lower north Queen Anne/west of Fremont is affecting emergency resources citywide, so we want to mention it here just to make sure you know – especially in case that’s an area of town you were planning to head to or from any time soon – Multiple people have been shot at Seattle Pacific University. Reports so far have put the number of victims as high as 7 (at least one with life-threatening injuries), and conflicting reports of one or two shooters – with at least one suspect in custody. The only thing clear is that, as just described on emergency radio, it’s a “chaotic” scene and you will want to stay far from that area for hours to come. Our partners at The Seattle Times are covering it here (and every other regional source is on it too).

4:10 PM: From SPD: “The suspect is in custody. There are no outstanding suspects being sought.”

4:30 PM: And one more police update: “1 man, 1 woman with life-threatening injuries; 1 man, 1 woman in stable condition.”

5:10 PM: One of the victims has died. SPU has canceled classes this evening.

11:30 PM: Since discussion is still going on in comments here, we’ll add a few links before the night’s out:

*Seattle Times on Jon Meis, the student hailed as a hero for stopping the gunman
*SPD confirms 26-year-old suspect’s identity (via Twitter)

tim June 5, 2014 (4:13 pm)

Looks at all eight medic units are tied up. This is not a good time to have a critical emergency.

Shotgun Shane June 5, 2014 (4:17 pm)

So sad. I wish people could just have words with each other – even throw a few punches if you must, but shooting someone is just plain stupid and final… no take backs.

I hope the vics all recover. My best to them.

tim June 5, 2014 (4:17 pm)

WSB can explain what’s SFD’s strategy for maintaining advanced life support service during an MCI? The video from harborview does an AID not Medic unit (not AMR) with a paramedic on board.

WSB June 5, 2014 (4:39 pm)

Tim, my knowledge of SFD policy/procedures ends at the nonscientific “when a house or other structure fire is suspected, a lot of units are sent as SOP,” I’m sorry to say, so I can’t answer that. We did note that for example, shortly after this was reported, police units zoomed that way from all over the city, including West Seattle (my co-publisher was at a business on Delridge and saw firsthand), which helped us decide to at least run a short story here. Unless someone involved turns out to be from West Seattle, I’m going back to local news now – TR

ScubaFrog June 5, 2014 (4:38 pm)

This is a very sad situation. My thoughts are with the victims and their families.

yeahright1200 June 5, 2014 (4:58 pm)

@ Tim SFD has “mutual aid” agreements with several jurisdictions outside of the city to provide coverage in a situation like this. Seattle doesn’t have automatic mutual aid agreements whereas resources from other areas are sent on the initial dispatch (this is common in the county where departments from all over the area regardless of their home base are sent) but can be requested by the incident commander. In this case, the SFD incident commander did request 2 mutual aid medic units to come into the city. One was sent to station 31 in the north end and the other was dispatched to a call in SODO (medic 4). So, the simple answer is that non-involved departments are sent in to cover stations and respond to calls. These mutual aid agreements cover MCI events as well as fire calls. As a side note the mutual aid agreements and assignments rarely actually go to the initial incident but provide fill in coverage (during a major fire event the SPD will usually go to the station to provide an escort and guide the units if they get a call to help with making sure the out of area units can find where they are going).

yeahright1200 June 5, 2014 (5:03 pm)

@Tim as for your question regarding aid car staffing… these units are staffed with Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs)(same as all engines and trucks) but in a situation like an MCI the paramedic units can split their crew since each unit has two paramedics on board where one stays with their unit and the other can work in the back of the aid car. Splitting the crew means that the EMT from the Aid Car would drive the aid car or medic unit with the medic in back working with the patient.

WestofJunction June 5, 2014 (5:30 pm)

Prayers to the students and their families. Much gratitude to the staff/professors who apprehended the gunman.

Wes Cider June 5, 2014 (5:47 pm)

The Seattle Times is enforcing their paywall on this very important story. Boo!

WSB June 5, 2014 (6:14 pm)

That’s unfortunate. Sorry, WC, we have definitely linked to them less since the paywall but at the time I started this, their site was the only place I found a continuously updated story and thought it worth spending a “free visit.” Certainly you should be able to find updated coverage now on just about any citywide/regional source, and I have been adding the key points here. – TR

Diane June 5, 2014 (6:19 pm)

@WestofJunction; many reports have said it was a student who tackled and stopped the shooter, while he was reloading

Phil K June 5, 2014 (6:26 pm)

They (Seattle Times) have a low graphic version of the news that does not have a paywall. I usually prefer it to the graphics-enabled site anyway; much easier to see everything that is there, less BS.

http://seattletimes.com/text/

Owen Sweeney June 5, 2014 (6:34 pm)

Another school shooting, another example of the lunacy of the second amendment.

sc June 5, 2014 (7:42 pm)

WSB has explained before that sometimes many units are called out and then canceled if not needed after the situation has been assessed.
One of the young woman interviewed on the news said she heard running and thought it might be the suspect but then she “saw blue” and knew it was the police. Thanks to SPD, SFD and the FBI who run towards the sound of gunshots to protect and serve our city. Prayers for all families involved.

WestofJunction June 5, 2014 (8:00 pm)

Diane, yes. The first reports I heard were that staff did it. It was a student security monitor, who was aided by other students. Good young people. They and their families should be proud. . So sorry about the young man who died. As a parent, I cannot imagine what his family is going through now. Prayers for the young woman who was seriously injured.

4th of Eight June 5, 2014 (9:25 pm)

As I do weekly, or as lately… I HATE the NRA and all their supporters. No, I don’t need negative feedback from paranoid gun owners. You are all guilty. People are shot EVERYDAY in this country, everyday, and the majority are not mentally ill, as they will hide behind. It’s usually angry, jealous or drunk gun owners or by illegal users that stole them because they were not secured by ‘solid, safe, healthy USA-loving/gun happy living owners.’ Do not even begin to lecture me or anyone else who also are SICK of NRA supporters. If you and any of your local and national ‘leaders’ of the NRA lobby would work as hard for your ‘rights’ to make sure these tragedies stop occurring.. whether jealous lovers who think they own a person, whether one homey thought he was disrespected by someone on their neighborhood turf, whether a small child picked up a gun and somehow pulled the trigger, whether an angry employee was going to get even at their worksite, etc. etc. I could go on and on. Put the same effort that all your crybabying ‘rights’ on ALSO preventing today at SPU, the other day in the Central District, Santa Barbara, Sandy Hook, Colorado. NRA locally and nationally are all two-faced B. S.ers. Who cares about your rights when normal Americans pay the price for your arrogance. 2nd Amendment? Needs to be ‘Amended’ .. It ain’t the 1700’s anymore when it was written for defending yourselves meant a WHOLE DIFFERENT America. Every dang shooting I seethe and ‘see’ the blood on the hands of those that yell the loudest, yet do the least. You all need to work twice as hard at keeping the rest of us Americans safe as you do to keep your paranoia secure.
Prayers and soothing wishes for the victims and all their hurting friends and families.

Yma June 5, 2014 (9:31 pm)

Thank you WSB for reporting on this.
I am sad & conflicted by this – happened about 10 blocks from where I work – not that that is terribly relevant.
I do believe in responsible gun ownership. What we have now is … not what we need. Please, folks, listen to each other. Have the discourse.

Ian June 5, 2014 (9:31 pm)

Thank you to all who are praying for our community at SPU. Although this is not in WS, there are many students, staff, and faculty that live all around WS. It is devastating and surreal that this happened on my own campus, but even with our anger and mourning, we are holding together. It is a wonderful community that I am so blessed to be a part of. Please pray for the families of the victims, our community, and for the shooter and his family.

Jason June 5, 2014 (10:02 pm)

Apparently this is the brave hero that stopped the shooter – I hope his name is published/spoken of more than the suspect’s:
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https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=796277827058639&set=a.119068864779542.15053.112779115408517&type=1
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And love to you and your community, Ian.

Dale June 5, 2014 (10:54 pm)

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/01/pro-gun-myths-fact-check

Im posting this to raise awareness. There is of course a rebutal out there. Read and make your choice. Of course, those who have passed because of guns can’t vote.

i'mcoveredinbees June 5, 2014 (11:09 pm)

Thanks for posting that, Dale!

This has GOT to stop and it’s only going to stop if we make it stop–with the facts. Read on KIRO that the shooter was fascinated by and had visited Columbine. Was not a student.

Ian, my condolences to you and your SPU family. I have a friend of family going there now and a family alum. Sad day…

heather June 6, 2014 (6:39 am)

Thank you for posting that Jason.

T Rex June 6, 2014 (8:30 am)

4th of eight, you really need to investigate further before you slam the NRA and people who choose to own guns in a responsible way. I am one of those people. The difference is I do not suffer from mental illness, I do not have a turf and my gun is not accessible to a child.

People who kill like this have serious mental illness.

Lets pray for the victims and stop this nonsense that guns cause these problems.

Somewhereinthemiddle June 6, 2014 (9:59 am)

Wow 4th of eight. Way to make a lot of the paranoid gun nuts seem reasonable.
This is why no sensible gun legislation will ever get passed. The folks on both extremes are dominating the debate. I know this is hard to believe, but you are just as much as a problem as the NRA. When all the ‘paranoid gun nuts’ write checks to the NRA, you are who they are worried about. Calm down, let the ‘paranoid gun nuts’ calm down, and maybe we can do something about this.

Thanks

The Farm June 6, 2014 (10:03 am)

Thanks WSB for reporting important news that is not just germaine to West Seattle. I would not have known about this had it not been for your reporting.

Ex-Westwood Resident June 6, 2014 (10:33 am)

You know…
When a terrorist explodes a bomb, we blame the terrorists. NOT the bomb.
When a drunk driver kills someone while driving drunk, we blame the drunk driver. NOT the car.
So why is it when someone uses a gun, or in this case a shotgun, to kill or harm, it is weapon that is to blame and not the person????
A car is just as, if not easier, to get than a gun.
If you know what you are doing, or are even the tiniest bit internet savy, you can find the directions to make a bomb from materials that are 100 times EASIER and CHEAPER to get from household items.
RESPONSIBLE gun owners ARE NOT the problem.
Passing MORE laws that criminals won’t obey isn’t the answer. Look at Chicago. They have the most STRINGENT gun laws in the US, yet they have the HIGHEST murder by gun rate in the US.
This is a PERFECT example of Rham Emanuels “Don’t let a crisis got to waste” to forward an agenda.
“4th of Eight”
The instances you provided ALL have one thing in common.
THEY WERE ALL PERPITRAITED BY INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE, BY LAW, PREVENTED FROM OWNING OR USING A GUN.
So please let me know how MORE laws would have prevented those????

socamr June 6, 2014 (10:48 am)

No one said guns cause these problems – guns cause these deaths. Thank goodness he only had a shotgun, because when he stopped to reload is when Jon Meis stopped him with pepper spray. Who knows how many people might have been killed if the shooter was armed with a semi-automatic?

Guns don’t cause mental illness, guns allow people with mental illness to cut short the lives of innocent people more easily than any other way. No other Westernized country suffers as many gun-related deaths as the good ol’ USA (we’re #1!). So don’t tell me, or 4th of eight, not to slam the NRA. If you are a member of the NRA – a group that fights tooth and nail to prevent any kind of responsible legislation concerning of guns – you are responsible, whether or not you personally handle guns properly.

And if you’re not happy about that, don’t yell at me, tell the NRA to allow reasonable requirements like background checks, licensing, limits on magazines and other sensible measures to prevent gun violence.

JoB June 6, 2014 (11:13 am)

T Rex ..
if all gun owners were choosing to own guns in a responsible way this wouldn’t be an issue.
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but they aren’t.
they are arming themselves to the teeth and walking out into public..
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they are claiming that only the mentally ill abuse their firearms and objecting to any regulations that would help keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill
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the NRA in particular objects to any regulation of gun ownership in any form of any individual no matter how unbalanced they may be that they object to the CDC keeping any stats at all of the public health risk of firearms.
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what part of that is responsible?
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i am wondering when responsible gun owners are going to step up and demand responsible gun ownership as a base criteria for owning guns.
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after all, that is the responsible thing to do

Jason June 6, 2014 (12:59 pm)

I consider myself pretty liberal, and I don’t think we need to make this tragedy into a gun debate – but I think it’s in our nature to want/need to blame something every time bad stuff happens. I don’t know the answer to the gun thing, nor do I have all the facts but I will say the notion of only cops and criminals having guns is more frightening to me than the NRA folks.
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Most guns used in mass shootings are obtained legally as far as I know and while we seem to have a major problem with treating mental health, I don’t think we want the government making these judgment calls on what defines mental health.
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So I don’t know the answer here but no matter what your stance politically, I think we should be asking ourselves what rights we’re championing to give up and who really benefits. I would love to live in a world with no guns or weapons but that’s not the case and here we all are.
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Anyway, kudos again to Jon Meis and other students who acted. I can’t get over the unbelievable courage – dude is a beast!

zark June 6, 2014 (1:50 pm)

2008 – It was only six years ago the Supreme Court ruled (in a 5-4 decision conservatives in the majority) that there was a “right to bear arms” as the NRA and supporters insist has been true for over two centuries.

Prior to that:
Justice Stephens – 1971-2010
“…there was literally no debate among the justices, conservative or liberal, over the idea that the Second Amendment constituted a “fundamental right” to bear arms. Precedents going all the way back to the beginning of the republic had held that the state had an interest in regulating weapons and never once in all its years had declared a “fundamental right” in this regard.”

RE: The NRA – couple facts for you:
The NRA was almost 100 years old, focused conservation, gun safety and marksmanship until 1977 when it was taken over by a group of gun rights advocates with the express purpose of using it as a lobbying arm to fight gun-control legislation. Foremost of the agenda, stop ithe HQ from moving from DC to CO, which would make them ineffective as a lobbying group.
Google “Revolt at Cincinnati”
From 1871 to 1977 the NRA was the nations foremost pro gun control advocacy organization.
First Pres. was Gen Ambrose Burnside, chosen to reflect the civilian-militia support as described by the 2nd amendment, which was understood at the time to concern having a prepared citizenry to assist in repelling raids on federal arsenals like Shay’s (1786).

And regarding Chicago – a favorite example from gun advocates on why gun-control doesn’t work:

“Look at Chicago. They have the most STRINGENT gun laws in the US, yet they have the HIGHEST murder by gun rate in the US.” – Ex Westwood

Yeah Chicago has gun laws, but their neighbors don’t – Between 2009 and 2013, 60% of guns recovered in crimes in Chicago were originally purchased in other states

Chicago’s murder rate per capita is less than 1/2 of New Orleans and Detroit, and well below Baltimore, Phili, and Memphis.

So neither point is correct – they don’t have strong gun-control laws, and they don’t have the highest murder rate.

An April 2013 Center for American Progress report found that the ten states with the weakest gun laws had 34% higher overall gun murder rates, 88% higher rates of gun murders of women, and 139% higher rates of gun murders of police officers than the ten states with the nation’s strongest gun laws.

“So please let me know how MORE laws would have prevented those?”
Because less guns means less gun violence – period.

We have an obscene number of guns in this country.
The average, AVERAGE, gun owner has 7.9 weapons in his/her arsenal. Why? Because it’s not about protection, it’s a hobby. A hobby of collecting and shooting guns, a passion, a lifestyle. Unfortunately its often coupled with an incorrect belief that US citizens are entitled to practice a hobby that endangers other people – we are not, we never have been, and there are myriad examples of legislation preventing, yes controlling, it. Yes, you can own a Tiger in the US, this is the home of the free. But you need a lot of training, licenses, and facilities to prove you’re capable of tiger-ownership. We have zero of that for guns.

Your example of a car not being the cause but rather the driver is a good one – for gun-control.
Cars are now, by LAW, required to have:
Mirrors
Lights
Brakes that work
an emergency brake
horns
bumpers
ALL of these we made law because they protect pedestrians.
But above all, ALL cars are required by law to be operated by a trained, licensed, individual. And that individual can lose his/her license for failing to operate said motor vehicle safely.

This is why you’ve heard so many times before “driving is a privileged not a right” – same with guns, and thank you for accidentally making such a strong point:
Gun ownership and use is a privilege of citizenship not our constitutional right. And so should be as controlled (or more) as driving is – great point Ex-Westwood! – you’re my new Gun-Control advocate hero.

JCR143 June 6, 2014 (3:57 pm)

For all you people bashing the NRA & gun owners here, EAT CROW.

Jon Meis, the hero in yesterdays unfortunate incident, is a NRA supporter and gun owner.

But yeah, let’s continue to bash “gun nuts” and the NRA.

Jason June 6, 2014 (9:29 pm)

I have some crows in my backyard but I like them, my daughter named them so I think eating them is out of the question.
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But look this kid has a wedding registry: http://www.theknot.com/wedding/view/8333324271024836/42288214