Three people shot in University District fight, police say

SEATTLE – A gun battle between two groups early Sunday outside a University District club left three people injured and police looking for suspects.

Seattle Police Det. Drew Fowler said that officers were called to a parking lot near NE 45th Street and 8th Avenue NE just before 2:30 a.m. Numerous people called 911 reporting gunshots in that area.

Once police arrived, they found one man with a gunshot wound to his leg. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment, and Fowler said the man’s injury was not life-threatening.

Witnesses told SPD investigators that two groups started fighting not long after a nearby club had closed. Soon after the fight began, shots were fired from various directions and members of both groups left the area.

While officers were still at the original scene, Fowler said that the SPD got a call from Providence Everett Medical Center. Hospital officials there said that they had taken in two men with gunshot wounds, and they had been driven by friends from the U-District. It was quickly determined that the two had been injured in the shooting, with Fowler saying that both had life-threatening injuries.

Fowler said that shell casings were recovered from the shooting scene. Gang detectives are now helping with the investigation.

Anyone who may have information on the shooting is asked to call 911 to speak with an officer.