Downtown shooting updates: Media briefing; roads reopened; suspect dies; driver ID’d

(2:34 PM NOTE: Briefing’s over now. Will replace the screengrab below with archived video when available)

2:04 PM: City and county officials are presenting a briefing on this morning’s shooting incident downtown (see our earlier coverage here), and the live video above is courtesy of Seattle Channel. We’ll update this with new-info toplines as it goes. **Click the “play” button for the live video.**

County Executive Dow Constantine begins with “commend(ations)” for both drivers involved this morning. And: “Metro is safe,” he insists. “This was an isolated incident. It happened on a Metro bus but (it could have happened almost anywhere) … (and) there are a lot of people out there with guns who shouldn’t have them. The safety of our drivers and our passengers is always our first priority.” He says he met with the injured driver, who wasn’t only “awake and alert” but was “in good spirits … and asked almost immediately, ‘how are (his) passengers?’ That is the kind of dedicated public servant we so appreciate.” He also expresses appreciation for the second driver, the Route 120 driver, who dealt with the suspect trying to “commandeer his bus” before police intervened.

2:07 PM: Mayor McGinn speaks briefly and turns it over to Seattle Police Interim Chief Jim Pugel. He offers this chronology:
–At 8:48 am, the 1st bus was southbound on 3rd Avenue near Union/University. 3 people boarded, were asked to pay, 2 exited, 1 did not, “began pacing back and forth in bus, made his way up to the operator … then physically assaulted the driver and then shot him at least twice.” People were fleeing the bus yelling “He’s got a gun.” Two officers were nearby. One rushed to help, one rushed to seek the suspect, who still had a revolver in sight, and was on the run, and “according to witnesses, turned and pointed the gun at officers several times. … The suspect continued southbound on 2nd Avenue toward Seneca Street … tried to get into (two other vehicles) … eventually engaged a Metro bus that had passengers on it and was coming up the hill .. at SW corner of Seneca/2nd … somehow the door came open, the suspect got on the bus, several people got off …” Other officers, including an assistant chief, were in the area, gave verbal orders, the suspect raised his gun once, was shot, raised it again, was shot again. Seven minutes elapsed between the first call and the end of the incident, says Chief Pugel, “which is phenomenal.”

Two passengers on the second bus (the Route 120 bus) suffered minor injuries but no one besides the first driver and the suspect were hit by gunfire, says Chief Pugel.

“Today was a day when one of our drivers unfortunately met an individual who clearly should not have been there, with that weapon, and we at some point collectively failed to pick up that danger … It’s not a transit issue,” says Constantine now, reiterating, “It’s not a transit issue. Transit is safe … I hope next time you board a bus that you will take a moment to thank your Metro driver.”

2:15 PM: They’re taking Q/A now. Chief Pugel is not confirming one TV station’s ID of the suspect, who has a significant background, but not ruling it out either. He says Nick Metz is the assistant chief who was in the area and joined in the “chase.” What about security on buses? County Executive Constantine is asked. He recalls the 2010 assault on a Metro driver (a West Seattle resident) and talks about ways they worked with the transit union on safety procedures since then, and a resulting decline in assaults on drivers. (A union rep is at the briefing, but so far has not spoken.) “We safely deliver millions of people per week to their destinations without incident,” Constantine reiterates. A Transit Police (part of the King County Sheriff’s Office) rep comments on this too, saying that several of their personnel got there fast. Regarding the alleged fare refusal that preceded this, he says that drivers are asked to request fares – but not engage beyond that.

2:23 PM: Is there video from either bus? Potentially, says Chief Pugel. They’re checking people’s phone video, too. Next, Mayor McGinn is asked about the recent call for more police downtown because of other violence. He reiterates that two police officers were “right on the scene when this occurred,” but says they’re evaluating the overall situation. Executive Constantine says he’s not going public with the 64-year-old, 14-year-veteran shot driver’s name until hearing from the driver’s wife that enough of their family has been told, that it’s OK to go public. Back to driver safety, he notes the request for enclosing drivers, and says the drivers themselves considered them more of an impediment to their job than protection. The transit union rep, president Paul Bachtel, now speaks and says the enclosures were tested multiple times in the past, with 300 operators surveyed after testing 30 shields. The union executive board rejected them for reasons including glare, a change in relationship between drivers and passengers, feedback from other agencies that had tried them. He also reiterates that operators are told to only ask for the fare once, and some, if they feel it’s unsafe, don’t do that at all.

Executive Constantine repeats that drivers are all “a bit shaken up today … so your kind words will mean a lot to them.” And at 2:29 pm, the briefing is over.

2:34 PM NOTE: Though traffic conditions weren’t discussed in the briefing, the latest from Metro is: “Buses traveling into Seattle on NB Alaskan Way Viaduct rerouted via 3rd Ave w/ no stop on Seneca west of 3rd. SB viaduct buses are OK.” And: “Buses still rerouted off 2nd Ave between Stewart & Spring. Board/exit all 2nd Ave routes at regular stops N of Stewart, E of 3rd or S of Spring.”

3:01 PM UPDATE: And now from Metro: “Most transit service has resumed normal operations.” They will have additional updates here throughout the PM commute.

4:27 PM UPDATE: Just tweeted by SPD: “Streets reopened downtown. 2nd Ave still closed between Spring and University but should be opening shortly.”

4:53 PM UPDATE: SPD has now confirmed that the suspect has died. Also, the Seattle Times (WSB partner) has identified the injured driver as 64-year-old Deloy Dupuis, whom public records say lives in Burien.

48 Replies to "Downtown shooting updates: Media briefing; roads reopened; suspect dies; driver ID'd"

  • AEL August 12, 2013 (2:35 pm)

    Any news on the reroute downtown? When will the buses be back to normal?

  • nemobeansmom August 12, 2013 (2:44 pm)

    Holy Smokes!!! I’m so glad not very many people got hurt and GOOD JOB SPD and Metro!!!

  • KB August 12, 2013 (2:52 pm)

    Here we go again. Isolated incident. Our buses are safe…..
    Shields were “voted down”.
    Here’s the truth:
    The shields that were voted down were made by the mechanics in the bus garage….destined for failure for the design. The union “recommended ” that they not be used.
    A “group” of drivers used and voted on them. Shields are meant to do just that….”shield” danger and give the driver a few seconds to make a split decision. This should not be a vote, safety should be mandatory. PROFESSIONALLY made shields would provide a moment of clarity and a deterrent of violence.
    Secondly:
    Half the coaches do not have cameras, or they don’t work.
    Thirdly: twice in the past few months I have hit the emergency button inside my bus and NO ONE CAME.
    My heart is pouring out prayers right now for this driver because I know what a long, hard journey he is about to embark on. I am angry, I am reliving my experience today, and wondering, just wondering how to open some eyes.

  • Christopher Boffoli August 12, 2013 (2:59 pm)

    Excellent ongoing coverage Tracy!

    • WSB August 12, 2013 (3:04 pm)

      Thanks, CJB.

  • Frank Castle August 12, 2013 (3:02 pm)

    This is why you should be allowed to conceal carry. Imagine if the perp had opened fire on the passengers in that bus too. It could have been a bloodbath the passengers would be helpless victims. Thank God I live in Virginia where we can do that.

    I’ll pray that the driver fully recovers but hopefully the perp meets his maker.

  • scubafrog August 12, 2013 (3:44 pm)

    I bet the judge lets the shooter go. Frank’s right btw, the driver should be able to concealed carry.

  • P August 12, 2013 (3:57 pm)

    Frank Castle, typical lying gun owner. Your first lie is claiming WA doesn’t allow concealed carry, your second lie is to make the thoroughly disproven claim that guns prevent violence, then in conclusion you state your hope someone dies. Stay in Virginia with the rest of the lying sociopaths, Frank, we don’t want trigger happy monsters like you around here.

  • fionaenzo August 12, 2013 (4:52 pm)

    I agree with KB that more protection should be afforded bus drivers, a shield would be necessary to make sure the driver is safe thereby hopefully ensuring the bus cannot be hijacked or crashed. I can only imagine how scary that is to be sitting there and having to deal with the wide variety of humanity with drug problems, mental health issues and other points of desperation, especially late at night.

  • G August 12, 2013 (4:56 pm)

    And the conversation takes a turn into name-calling. What a surprise.

  • CB August 12, 2013 (4:59 pm)

    +1 to P!

  • Wess Cider August 12, 2013 (5:01 pm)

    What does this have to do with West Seattle??? Ok bus routes may be affected, but why cover a story in such detail aside from how it directly relates to or impacts West Seattle. This only encourages other nut jobs to seek attention. I wish the media in general would get this.

  • justadumbguy August 12, 2013 (5:06 pm)

    An innocent driver shot and another man dead over bus fare? There are days I simply don’t understand the world and this is one of them. My thoughts and prayers are with all those involved, particularly the driver and his family, on this very sad day.

  • JayDee August 12, 2013 (5:18 pm)

    First of all, the dead shooter obviously was not weighing things objectively — this wouldn’t be the first skipped bus fare. Second, you don’t just shoot a Metro bus driver expecting to be famous. As he clearly showed, his celebrity was both fleeting and fatal.

    And what does it have to do with West Seattle? West Seattle routes run down 3rd Ave and the 56 lets out at Union, I park in Benaroya when not on the bus and was temporarily held up in the street closure this PM.

  • dhg August 12, 2013 (5:21 pm)

    So, Frank Castle, are you paid to troll for violent incidents and add your “opinion” that more guns would make us all safer? The idea is sheer idiocy either way.

    And you’re praying that the perp meets his maker. Your humanity matches the perp.

  • Lizzle August 12, 2013 (5:31 pm)

    This event directly impacted many West Seattlites today, myself included. I was on the C bus directly behind the 120 and our bus evacuated into an active crime scene. It was terrifying and none of us really knew what was happening. I knew WSB would have more info as soon as it was available, and having that info made me feel better/safer. I’m so grateful that WSB is such a trustworthy and reliable source for incidents involving WS neighbors.

  • anonyme August 12, 2013 (5:31 pm)

    +2 to P!

    That’s all we need, more gun-toting yahoos on the bus, ready to engage in a shootout that would almost certainly injure or kill innocent people caught in the crossfire. Stupid on steroids.

    I’m all for more protection for drivers, but what about passengers? Most drivers will not address any situation on the bus, regardless of how it impacts riders. We need way more security on public transit, for everyone’s safety.

  • Wess Cider August 12, 2013 (5:53 pm)

    JayDee – WSB should be covering the closures, route delays, etc, not the shooting itself in timeline detail. WSB is not a city-wide media outlet – Their words (paraphrased), not mine.
    .
    Besides, this only reminds other nutjobs that want to be in the limelight that the media is an asset to their warped cause.

  • 120 August 12, 2013 (6:01 pm)

    @Wess Cider, because the bus the police shot the suspect on was the 120 which comes from Westwood Village to Delridge to downtown. Also the C line was behind that. Very relative as a news story and coverage by WSB. I use that downtown stop daily from WS, as do many WS commuters. There were WS people on that bus and witness to it.

  • West Seattle Hipster August 12, 2013 (6:05 pm)

    Great coverage WSB, I commute from north Seattle and thanks to your reporting I avoided downtown on the way home.

    Nice work also to the SPD, this was one criminal that the court system would not be able to slap on the wrist.

  • Davilaw August 12, 2013 (6:21 pm)

    JayDee. Have a look at the bullet holes on that 120

  • Ajax August 12, 2013 (6:32 pm)

    I couldn’t agree more with Wess Cider.
    I become so frustrated when reading news sources that purposely trick the reader by using a place name in their publication’s name, then they have a bunch of stories about other places. I just wonder how many people in Seattle will kill their neighbors and take off with their teenage daughters after reading about things that happened in California and Idaho in the SEATTLE Times? What has happened to journalism??

  • Thunder August 12, 2013 (6:40 pm)

    Thank you, Seattle Police Department.

  • 120 rider August 12, 2013 (6:56 pm)

    Wes’s Cider- this is relevant to West Seattle because the shooter was shot while commandeering a 120 bus from West Seattle to downtown. If not for an early meeting, I would having been riding that very bus with the nine bullet holes this morning.

  • Neighbor August 12, 2013 (7:18 pm)

    My husband was on the 120 ahead of this one, only because the nice driver waited for hi running flat out. Otherwise, frightens me to think, what if.

    Get a life – it’s relevant and you’ve obviously followed the story.
    You should work so hard as Tracy, Patrick and crew.

    Dow, good on you.

  • NativeToSeattle August 12, 2013 (7:30 pm)

    If the suspect had not been caught, then this would have been even more relevant to West Seattle. Many people from West Seattle were impacted & I am very thankful for the complete coverage from WSB.

    If anyone questions whether an article relates to West Seattle, then don’t read the post.

    I read the WSB before other Seattle media and check it at least twice daily. Often the news is more accurate and less biased than other sites I read.

    I really doubt that the WSB coverage is going to encourage someone to copycat a crime for attention.

    Thank you WSB for your thorough, professional, and informative service.

    You do a fabulous job!

  • Marko August 12, 2013 (7:40 pm)

    I’m glad the driver will be okay. Somehow, the wingnut had a gun. Somehow he felt $2.50 was worth pulling the trigger a couple times on a man just doing his job. Unpredictable acts of violence are impossible to prevent yet without a doubt SPD saved lives today.

  • G August 12, 2013 (7:51 pm)

    I was on Rapidride a few days ago southbound on 3rd and apparently a few louts got on through the back door without paying. The driver reminded them several times, and when it was apparent they weren’t going to abide by the rules, she didn’t pursue it any further. Probably the right thing to do, but the brazen “in your face” is shocking.

  • wsguy August 12, 2013 (8:07 pm)

    Ajax – according to your logic then the Seattle Times should not cover any national or world news? And if they do that is an example of poor journalism? What is your definition of journalism?

    How many people will kill their neighbors and take off with their teenage daughters? Probably none.

    So if we put our fingers in our ears, close our eyes and yell really loud nothing bad will happen?

    I don’t know what you consider journalism but while the Seattle Times is far from perfect it’s still a pretty good paper. Hopefully they continue national and world news coverage and don’t follow your advice.

    • WSB August 12, 2013 (8:11 pm)

      After reading the comment 3 times I suspect Ajax was being sardonic/satirical.

  • West Seattle Since 1979 August 12, 2013 (8:08 pm)

    So glad the driver will be ok, and that none of the riders were hurt. WSB, thanks for covering this since because the 120 was involved, it absolutely does impact West Seattle.

  • a mother August 12, 2013 (8:55 pm)

    Thank you seattle police !!!!! My daughter was on the 120 if you didn’t shoot him then what would have happened? The police saved her life and others today thank you

  • Community Member August 12, 2013 (8:57 pm)

    I thought Ajax’s post was an absolutely brillant example of reductio ad absurdum.

  • mom August 12, 2013 (9:22 pm)

    Thank you Seattle police ! My daughter was on the 120 . You saved her life and the life of others. Please love your family and friends who knows what tomorrow will bring. Thank you again Seattle Police.

  • Lifetime WS August 12, 2013 (9:36 pm)

    I Knew Deloy Years Ago, Nicest Guy, Glad he is ok.

    Why are people so Upset when a criminal is back out on the streets, Its Hug a thug Seattle.
    Liberal Judges Elected by liberal vOTERS IN lIBERAL sEATTLE.

  • Wes Cider August 12, 2013 (9:37 pm)

    I get that there was a bus from West Seattle involved (120).
    .
    My point again is that the WSB did not need to do a full coverage (a timeline of events) of the incident other than covering how the buses and commute to and from W. Seattle is was impacted – if they were staying true to their W. Seattle only coverage. They could have provided a link to the story on Komo, King, Seattle Times, etc.

  • wscommuter August 12, 2013 (9:59 pm)

    Lifetime WS. Your ignorance it remarkable. Setting aside the fact that the King County Superior Court bench is far from “liberal” (and how, exactly, does one lump 53 judges into a single label anyway?) … if you knew anything about the law (and yes, I’m now including Scubafrog above as well, with his comment about judges letting shooters go), you would know that in … wait – here it comes – the real world, shooters are routinely held on very high bail … and those “liberal” judges hand down statutorily mandated lengthy sentences for people who shoot other people. This guy – the shooter, if he had lived – would face Assault 1 or Attempted Murder 1 charges, with firearm enhancements, plus possibly Assault 2 charges for anyone he even pointed his gun at. He would easily do 15 years even if he had no criminal record. Apparently he has a lengthy record, so he’d do even more time.

    Reality. Try living in it.

  • Dunno August 13, 2013 (7:01 am)

    Wes Cider, are Delridge, Westwood Village, not part of West Seattle? I guess your part of the 35th ave and West crowd of West Seattle? Better check the route of the 120 and thanks for excluding me from your West Seattle.

  • Commuter August 13, 2013 (8:13 am)

    Wess Cider, the Blog is FREE. That means we have ZERO right to complain about the scope of coverage. If Tracy wants to put in the time and effort to provide continuing coverage of an event like this, more power to her and all the better for us readers who were directly affected. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. The idea that a neighborhood blog is encouraging or glorifying violent crime by providing its own coverage instead of linking to KOMO is absurd.

  • mcghee August 13, 2013 (9:15 am)

    Wes Cider – I, for one, understood your point the first time. I just did not agree with it. Restating your position in an increasingly condescending fashion didn’t make it any more agreeable to me.

  • scubafrog August 13, 2013 (10:59 am)

    wscommuter Your slander and defamation of my good name is duly noted.

    Surely we can all be respectful of one another and still express our views accordingly.

  • Wes Cider August 13, 2013 (12:31 pm)

    @Commuter: MSNBC, Fox News, ABC NEWS, etc are all free to the viewer/reader. Should we not question their journalistic integrity either? The WSB has stated that they cover West Seattle news and not Seattle wide news. Of course they are free to run their blog how ever they would like. I am only pointing out an inconstancy.
    .
    @Mcghee: It’s often difficult to impart tone from a comment post. I’m sorry you read my comment in that tone – it wasn’t my intent.

    • WSB August 13, 2013 (1:03 pm)

      We have neither the time nor the inclination to argue. I make the editorial calls. If I make the wrong editorial calls too often, the site will lose readership and we’ll go out of business. Yesterday, there was a high interest in details of this story, not just “The C Line is routed off 3rd Avenue”; it was our biggest pageview day in six weeks (since the daytime thunderstorm/power outage, which, ironically to this discussion of geography, I had to cover almost entirely from my parked car just west of I-5 downtown because of an errand I’d been running when it struck almost without warning).
      .
      And no, yesterday’s traffic was not a case of non-West Seattleites happening onto the site because we are indexed well in Google and Google News; the “new visitors” number was no higher than usual. But that’s not my point in responding; I have never believed in pandering to the numbers, but when yesterday was said, done, and counted, that’s how it turned out. Anyway, I just wanted to correct the contention that we have ever declared we are West Seattle-only. News of West Seattle- and West Seattleite-relevance happens in many places, and we will cover it as best we can, sometimes better than others, but we always give it our all. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. – TR

  • Commuter August 13, 2013 (3:48 pm)

    @ Wes, Choosing to report on events that happen somewhere other than on the WS peninsula has nothing to do with “journalistic integrity.” It’s just an editorial choice about scope of coverage. If you “question” any news outlet’s scope of coverage, don’t watch/read/subscribe to it. If enough people agree with you, they won’t either, advertisers will pull out, and the publication will disappear. Fortunately, that doesn’t seem likely to happen to the Blog, which consistently displays far more “journalistic integrity” than the major networks.

  • the Real Wes Cider August 13, 2013 (5:53 pm)

    Wes Cider, I’m calling you out.
    You hi-jacked my screen name for your trolling purposes. Cease & desist, you coward.

  • dawsonct August 13, 2013 (6:10 pm)

    When everyone starts shooting, Frank, who knows who the original shooter is?
    Bloodbath is the correct term, but your prefered scenario is the one that will give us the bloodbath.
    Probably just another low information/low intellect Cuccinelli voter.

  • T August 14, 2013 (6:27 am)

    Cut mental health and social services, and this is what you get. This is coming from someone who works in the field. It is sad, tragic, and also should be a wake up to citizens and legislatures.

    Here is another recent example from Louisiana:
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23698277

  • wscommuter August 14, 2013 (2:31 pm)

    scubafrog … I am all for respectful discourse. You made an ignorant comment impugning the integrity and ability of the superior court bench. I pointed out that you don’t know what you’re talking about. Deal with it. Come back with facts … truth … not your ignorance.

    FYI – “slander and defamation” are the same thing. And the first element of defamation is that the supposedly defamatory statement is untrue. Given that I was correcting your own nasty comments about our judiciary, there was, in fact, nothing defamatory about my calling you out.

Sorry, comment time is over.