2 killed in shooting at food festival

Two people were killed and five others wounded in a shooting on Sunday evening during a food festival at an events complex near the Space Needle in Seattle, a city fire department spokesperson said.

The Seattle Center was hosting the Bite of Seattle food festival over the weekend. After the shooting, police urged people to avoid the area.

Susan Gregg from the Harborview medical center said it admitted four victims including a toddler, a 23-year-old man and two adult women. One patient was in a critical condition, she said.

Estan Wakonabo said he and his girlfriend were at the festival waiting in line for a photo booth when he was shoved from behind and turned to see a rush of people fleeing.

“People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground, baby strollers were falling,” Wakonabo said, adding that was when he heard gunshots.

“Once I heard a ‘pop, pop, pop,’ that’s when I knew it was a shooter.”

After escorting his girlfriend to safety, he returned to the scene and saw multiple victims on the ground, Wakonabo said.

The annual festival started in 1982 and draws about 350,000 attendees over three days.