Updated 3:25pm May 31
In a press conference this afternoon Seattle Police Assistant Chief Jim Pugel revealed new details about yesterday's deadly shootings that ended in the death of the suspect, Ian Stawicki on a West Seattle street.
Chief Pugel said that after shooting the driver of an SUV at 8th and Seneca he drove it to West Seattlle, abandoned it on Delridge way near Dakota Street s.w. and shortly thereafter contacted a, "Southwest Seattle acquaintance," who reportedly said that the shooter was "acting erratically, talking nonsense" and he then broke off contact with him. Pugel said that Stawicki then "roamed in very crowded areas for some time," during which the acquaintance had not heard of the shootings. Once he heard the news and realized what Stawicki had done, he called SPD to report the contact.
Police said that a video of the shootings in Roosevelt will not be released for some time.
Updated story for 10:00p.m.
Ian Stawicki, whose shooting spree took the lives of five people today has died from a self inflicted gunshot wound. Scanner traffic at the time of the shooting said he shot himself through the right temple. He was taken to Harborview but died at the hospital. The fifth shooting victim died at Harborview this evening as well.
Updated story for 6:30 p.m., May 30
A tragic day for Seattle ended around 4 p.m. in the Fairmount Park neighborhood of West Seattle as police swarmed around the suspect in a series of shooting deaths on May 30.
The suspect dropped to his knees on the sidewalk near the corner of 37th and Raymond as police approached, pulled out a gun and shot himself in the head, according to SPD officials.
PLEASE CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM TODAY'S EVENTS
As of 6:30 p.m. on May 30, the shooting suspect, 40-year-old Ian Stawicki from Ellensburg according to several media reports, is still alive at Harborview Hospital. UPDATE: Stawicki died from his self-inflicted gunshot wound on the evening of May 30.
Police believe he was responsible for a shooting in north Seattle and First Hill earlier in the day, but continue to investigate to ensure he was the only one involved.
From north to south, a deadly spree
The shooting started around 11 a.m. at Café Racer in north Seattle when the suspect walked in, shot five people and fled. Two men were pronounced dead at the scene and three more victims were rushed to the hospital, where another died.
30 minutes later, as officers searched north Seattle for their suspect, police said the same man approached a female near her black Mercedes SUV at a parking lot at the corner of 8th Ave S.W. and Seneca St. in First Hill. Witnesses saw an argument break out, and then watched the suspect pull out a gun and shoot the victim in the head before stealing her vehicle.
At noon, Southwest Precinct officers patrolling S.W. Delridge Way in West Seattle discovered the Mercedes abandoned on the 4100 block of Delridge, just north of the Delridge Playfield and Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. There was a semiautomatic pistol sitting in the driver’s seat.
Already stretched thin, and unsure at that time if the shootings were related, Seattle police put all available resources to work canvassing opposite ends of the city in search of their shooter. A several block radius around the abandoned vehicle in Delridge was blocked off as police and SWAT went door to door, searching homes, buildings and vehicles for their suspect.
Area schools were put in temporary lockdown, including Youngstown where 50 children, several teachers and many resident artists remained for much of the afternoon.
Margaret Way with Youngstown said during the lockdown, “Right now we’d rather be safe … there has been too much bloodshed today.”
Four hours later, a plainclothes officer spotted a man fitting their description walking in West Seattle’s Fairmount Park neighborhood, two miles away from the abandoned stolen vehicle.
The officer called for backup and witnesses say at least ten squad cars quickly descended upon the suspect after the initial sighting, pulled their weapons and demanded the man stop. Stawicki, described as a white male with well groomed, dark hair and a neat beard, then dropped to his knees and shot himself.
Police initially reported the man had been shot by an officer on their Twitter account, but quickly revised the recount to say the gunshot wound was self-inflicted.
As families mourn the loss of their loved ones, many questions remain in the motive of a man’s deadly acts. More details on the suspect and his connection, if any, to the shooting victims are expected to be released in the coming days.
Detectives believe Stawicki is responsible for both shootings, but said West Seattle neighborhoods should expect “heightened police presence” as they ensure only one gunman was involved.
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Ongoing coverage throughout the day
A man identified by Seattle Police as Ian Stawicki entered Cafe Racer 58th NE and Roosevelt Way today around 11:00am and shot five people, killing three of them then fled. Shortly before noon an argument between a man and a woman at 8th & Seneca at Town Hall resulted in a shooting of the female driver. She was later pronounced dead. The Mercedes SUV was driven to West Seattle and abandoned in the 4100 block of Delridge Way SW. Police had originally called this incident a car jacking. The SUV was towed away for further investigation.
A weapon was found inside the SUV based on SPD scanner traffic.
Then later the incidents came together as police attempted to stop a suspect in West Seattle near 37th and Raymond Street s.w. According to reports the suspect stopped, knelt and shot himself in the temple. He did not die from this and was transported to Harborview.
Sealth, Denny, Hope lutheran, Seattle Lutheran, Tilden schools were sheltered in place/locked down as precaution but were opened and released on time.
Margaret Way at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center said, they had fifty kids and several teachers and artists inside at the time of the lockdown. She said, "I think it is good they are taking precautions because they don't seem to know what the person looks like or where he is located. Right now we'd rather be safe there's been too much bloodshed today."
