(Image: @drewgillett via Twitter)
Police were searching for a suspect who fled the scene on foot Thursday night after a male victim was shot near 23rd and Union.
911 callers reports gunfire near MidTown Center just before 7 PM. Police arrived to find a male victim down inside a business in the shopping center.
The man in his 30s late 20s was initially reported to have been shot in the leg. He was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to Seattle Fire.
Police were searching for a suspect described only as a black male with possible braids and wearing a red sweatsuit seen fleeing the area eastbound on Union.
UPDATE 10/7/16 12:35 PM: Police say Thursday night’s shooting stemmed from a dispute between to men outside Earl’s Cuts and Styles:
Detectives Investigating After Man Shot Following Argument
Gang Unit detectives are investigating after a man was shot overnight following an argument outside a Central District business.Witnesses called 911 just before 7 pm saying a 27-year-old man had been shot in the 1100 block of 23rd Avenue. Officers arrived within two minutes and found the victim who had been shot once in the leg. Seattle Fire medics transported the victim to Harborview Medical Center with non life-threatening injuries.
Witnesses told officers that the suspect and victim were having an argument just before they heard a gunshot. Officers searched the area but were unable to find the suspect who was described as a black male wearing a red sweatshirt and pants and last seen running Eastbound along E. Union St.
If you have any information in this case please call detectives at 206-233-5000.
According to the SPD report on the incident, the victim and the shooter were inside the business prior to the incident and went outside to talk, according to a witness. Police also said witnesses were mostly reluctant to say much about the incident:
I was walking home from work and had just crossed 23rd at Union when this happened. The post office-liquor store building blocked my view of what happened but I heard it. The odd thing is how different the gunshot sounded compared to the gunfire I hear in my neighborhood. It was more like a loud crash and, at first, I thought it construction debris falling. When I saw the male running across Union, right in front of traffic, I thought it was likely a shooting. He was wearing a red sweat suit. When I looked across the street at everyone outside the Neighbor Lady, no one was reacting. As I kept walking, I heard the sirens, and that pretty much confirmed my suspicion.
When I crossed 23rd just seconds before this happened, there were some men arguing outside the barber shop, but it didn’t seem to be much more intense than the other things I have seen at this intersection over the years.
Thanks for the account, citycat. I hope you talked to the police about what you saw.