Man opens fire on Seattle nightclub crowd; cops shoot suspect
SEATTLE - A gunman opened fire on a crowd outside a South Lake Union nightclub early Sunday, but officers shot and captured the suspect a short distance away after a chase on foot.
One man in the crowd was hit by the gunman before he fled, but police say a phoned-in tip from nightclub security personnel prevented the shooting from being a much worse disaster.
The drama unfolded shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday when security personnel at the Citrus nightclub called 911 to warn police that there might be trouble with the crowd at closing time.
Seattle gang unit detectives arrived on scene, and as people began leaving the club at closing time, someone across the street opened fire on the crowd in the parking lot, hitting one person before running away.
From their vantage point, detectives saw the man fire into the crowded parking lot then run across Fairview Avenue North, gun in hand.
Three detectives gave chase and confronted the man. When the suspect pointed the gun at the detectives, two of them opened fire, winging the suspect. The suspect, later identified as a 22-year-old man, was then taken into custody. Detectives recovered his gun and placed it into evidence.
The suspect was treated at the scene and then taken to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, where he remains under guard. He will be booked into the King County Jail when he is released from the hospital, police said.
Meanwhile, a 26-year-old man who was shot by the gunman fled the scene. A couple blocks away from the club he saw an officer responding to the shooting and flagged him down. Medics were called and the man was taken to Harborview with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police said the incident could have been much bloodier if club security had not called 911 before the incident and alerted police to the potential for violence.
"The officers likely saved lives tonight because had they not been here, and the guy could have continued firing into the crowd, multiple people would have been hit," said Nick Metz of the Seattle police.
Preliminary investigation indicates that there may have been more than one person shooting in the nightclub parking lot. The unknown suspects remain at large, police said.
No officers were injured during the incident. The two officers who opened fire will be placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.
A Firearms Review Board will be convened in the coming weeks to determine if the shooting was within Department policy.
One man in the crowd was hit by the gunman before he fled, but police say a phoned-in tip from nightclub security personnel prevented the shooting from being a much worse disaster.
The drama unfolded shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday when security personnel at the Citrus nightclub called 911 to warn police that there might be trouble with the crowd at closing time.
Seattle gang unit detectives arrived on scene, and as people began leaving the club at closing time, someone across the street opened fire on the crowd in the parking lot, hitting one person before running away.
From their vantage point, detectives saw the man fire into the crowded parking lot then run across Fairview Avenue North, gun in hand.
Three detectives gave chase and confronted the man. When the suspect pointed the gun at the detectives, two of them opened fire, winging the suspect. The suspect, later identified as a 22-year-old man, was then taken into custody. Detectives recovered his gun and placed it into evidence.
The suspect was treated at the scene and then taken to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, where he remains under guard. He will be booked into the King County Jail when he is released from the hospital, police said.
Meanwhile, a 26-year-old man who was shot by the gunman fled the scene. A couple blocks away from the club he saw an officer responding to the shooting and flagged him down. Medics were called and the man was taken to Harborview with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police said the incident could have been much bloodier if club security had not called 911 before the incident and alerted police to the potential for violence.
"The officers likely saved lives tonight because had they not been here, and the guy could have continued firing into the crowd, multiple people would have been hit," said Nick Metz of the Seattle police.
Preliminary investigation indicates that there may have been more than one person shooting in the nightclub parking lot. The unknown suspects remain at large, police said.
No officers were injured during the incident. The two officers who opened fire will be placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.
A Firearms Review Board will be convened in the coming weeks to determine if the shooting was within Department policy.
If it was up to me I would take all these little BS weak minded, too stupid to do anything with their lives, I look like I took a crap in my pants, too stupid to pass school, too lazy to work, no morals or values pieces of garbage on a boat in the Bering Sea and throw them all overboard.
@tkyed the only bad thing about that is,I'm out here in the Bering Sea right now and I don't want those pieces of crap coming up on my hooks. Although it would be cool to see the guys gaff them in the head.
Sounds like Nick Metz is suffering from Inflated Hero Syndrome to me. The gunman(gunmen) fired into the crowd then ran away. That means he(they) could not 'have continued firing into the crowd'.
Â
But the struggling SPD needs to look good at all times."Seattle gang unit detectives arrived on scene, and as people began leaving the club at closing time, someone across the street opened fire on the crowd in the parking lot, hitting one person before running away."
Â
"The officers likely saved lives tonight because had they not been here, and the guy could have continued firing into the crowd, multiple people would have been hit," said Nick Metz of the Seattle police.
If Citrus wants to use the SPD as their security, they should be billed for them.
 @jinkiesshaggy! Go back under your bridge troll.
Seattle has a lowlife/thug/gang underworld that keeps giving the hardworking folk of this town a bad name. Instead of shooting or tagging or gang banging they should all grow up and get jobs.
 @Sanctuary Every city has a lowlife/thug/gang underworld. It isn't isolated to Seattle. It's called life.
@Sanctuary there aren't any jobs for them. Or those as well educated as they are.
if he would have died, his family would have sued the crap out of the police force. this is what has to stop. he asked for it. and so they shot him. but if he would have died, apparently it gives them the right to say their little family member was shot too many times. see? this is all liberal America. dont blame the cops. blame the person who thought they could aim a gun at a cop. bad idea.
 @Nuitari Delphiki Thank you!!! Couldn't agree more. Usually this site is full of law enforcement hate and blaming police for doing their job enforcing the law that the people vote for... It really bothers me to live in an area where law enforcement is so  little appreciated and so eagerly condemned for everything they do for the citizens. I know I am going to get nasty comments on this so don't bother :)
The cops in that photo need some aerobic exercise. Â
SPD needs some target practice. It's too bad this worthless scum survived.
SPD needs some target practice. It's too bad the low life survived.
Great job night club person who called police to say there may be a problem at closing.
 @lovinTruth A "problem" just at closing? The "problem" was there all night long.
I find it sexist and ageist that KOMO has revealed this suspect's gender and age. Â
Why isn't the shooter dead ? What is wrong with SPD? he shot one person,pointed the gun at them . Give the assailant a good dose of lead poisoning.Â
Well, this one is positive for the police. On the other story they killed a man armed only with a pool cue. This time the suspect had a gun, and the police was able to capture him without killing him. Good job.
@Damian so Damien,if the police didn't have their guns in this situation,since you think the police shouldn't have guns,what should they have done with this guy,talk his gun out of his hand? Come on tell me what you think of the 2nd amendment,since you didn't reply to it in your other post
 @Damian you do realize that you can be killed with a pool cue right? the most famous one was where the Hell's Angels beat a man to death with them at a Stones concert. the thick end of a pool cue is a very dangerous weapon.
@beetle73 @Damian this Damien guy posted in the thread when the deputy shot the guy that had a pool cue,that the police should not have guns,just like in the UK , you know who he voted for.
SPD can't win for trying from some of you people....I would like to remind the readers of this story that while everyone else was running the opposite way...three detectives were foot chasing a man with a gun and put themselves in harms way.
Â
To put this into perspective...sprint a distance (unknown how far from this story), go under the threat of a person pointing a gun at you, presumable to kill you, and shoot (unknown distance from story), and be under the cloak of darkness. Â All this occurs within a VERY short amount of time.
Â
Thanks SPD for showing up!
Â
After reading some of these comments I'm confused. If the police just wing someone then they don't know how to shoot or the person should have been killed. On the other hand if a police officer kills someone then they are reckless and why did the person need killing. In this particular case it sounds to me like they did their job flawlessly. Give credit where it is due.
O.k.... my breakdown of what I just read. A gangbanging idiot open fires on a CROWD of people and hits ONE PERSON. That means it's really hard to hit a target when you're holding up your PANTS with one hand, and jumping up and down holding your "gat" sideways. I'd LOVE to see one of these morons open fire on an N.R.A. meeting......just sayin. NOW......the POLICE, OPEN FIRE on the suspect and only WING him? Really? Back to the gun range boys. This little "banger" SHOULD be a dead man. NOW we get to support him, while he's a hero to his thug buddies on the outside. I have a personal message to bangers. I have a C.P.L. I carry. I train with my weapon. I can tear it down and rebuild it in less than a minute, and when I fire it, I do NOT hold it sideways. If I or my family are ever out on the town and one of yours decides to try your crap? Odds are you'll die right there in the street. People are arming themselves. We're sick and tired of your antics, and the police having their hands tied when it comes to dealing with you. Civil rights groups can't touch US for defending ourselves. Keep that in the back of your crack smoke filled heads.
@Wolfen ...2 thumbs UP Wolfen!!! It's too bad though that the zombies will never see your post or any other, simply because they can't read or care about anything else but themselves. There must be some other way to defeat this disease and I think you have the right idea. More of "us" will drive the suckas out and limit their population.
 @TreeTopFlyer "Some other way": More thugs hangin', less gangs bangin'.
@Wolfen great post,I'd be right there along side you. I as well as others are getting sick of crap happening also. I hope I never have to use my weapon,but if I do,the bad guy won't be winged and ill sleep just fine.
 @Wolfen LOL. I see them downtown all the time with their boxer shorts hanging out and their pants halfway down to their knees. Why don't they just wear buttless pants instead as those would certainly be easier to run in and get you the wink from the twinks to boot!
In talking to a cop I know about this, it seems that a lot of departments don't mention the name of a suspect in a gang in the news until he is arraigned for trial. One reason for this is so the defendant doesn't get any extra rah-rahs from his gang for doing something like this.
Too bad they didn't kill the scum. Of course we want answers which he may or may not provide.
I wonder if the fact that the shooter was only slightly injured by police fire has anything to do with the new rules and stipulations set in place since the DOJ investigation or if it is was just bad shooting?
@Tattooed_Angel ...Center-of Mass and tight "groups" are fine at the range, but in real life it's very difficult to nail a moving target unless one practices shooting in real life situational training. I don't know if SPD practices that way, but I think there are Rules of Engagement.
@TreeTopFlyer we don't know if it was a moving target or not. But none the less they should be expected to hit center mass. They are after all issued firearms and allowed to shoot people. They should not have a problem hitting center mass,
Man I am sorry for the suspect... that he survived! I'm sure he had worse intentions.
Ah, the positive influence of hip hop.
 @joefuss Marco Rubio says one of his favorite songs is NWA's "Straight Outta Compton" and he is being eyed for President one day.  So either Marco Rubio is a thug Republican or your generalization is stupid. Â
 @lakeview Reminds me of when Paul Ryan said he liked Rage Against the Machine and Tom Morello said his music and the reason why its made isn't for Ryan. Ryan was the very machine he was raging against.  For some reason I don't think the surviving members of NWA would appreciate Rubio.
 @joefuss Any club, no matter what music they are playing, is going to have violence. People are drinking. You think country bars in the south don't have shootings?
 @quidproquo  @joefuss NO ! They don't because everyone there has a gun .
 @Maynard G Krebbs  @joefuss I'm from the south, genius. Yes they do fire on each other, start stupid fights, and any other dumb crap a drunk person does.  Give anyone a with a good amount of liquor in them a reason to fight and they probably will, with what ever weapon they have available.Â
 @quidproquo  @joefuss Yea, they do. But COUNTRY BOYS usually hit their targets. :) THAT itself is a deterrent. Jim Bob, KNOWS that Clem can hit a rat's a$$ at 50 yards with his varmint rifle. Even DRUNK, Jim Bob isn't stupid enough to draw down on Clem. Now let's go to the city.........Tyrone stole his gun during a burglary, and because of the serial numbers, couldn't sell it for crack money, so he decides to ROB people using it. The only problem is.....he doesn't know how to shoot. Those of us from the country, got rifles for Christmas when we were SEVEN, and our parents TAUGHT us gun safety so that we could go hunting with them and would be safe DOING it. Yea.....there's a pretty BIG difference here quid.
@Wolfen...Yep.
Checkout the roots of Jazz in the 1920s to 40s. The music was considered bad and incited people to do bad things. Now it's classic style of music and a less rowdy crowd enjoys it.Â
Yes, but jazz rarely glorifies violent behavior , much less does so constantly.
@quidproquo Problem is, the kids aren't listening to those, they're listening to the violet, thug §hithead "gangstas".
 @quidproquo  @Vexorg yes, i'm not arguing that they aren't part of the hip hop genre. I myself like lupe and common, But you won;t ever hear them played at a club like citrus.Â
 @AB  @Vexorg Just because they aren't main stream club music doesn't invalidate that they are part of the genre and honestly pretty popular in general.
 @quidproquo  @Vexorg when is the last time you've heard common, macklemore, or the blue scholars played at a club? never.
Perhaps the lyrics are different but the crowd when Jazz was birthed was considered a rough crowd. It was not unheard of to have knife fights after the club closed.
 @Vexorg You must not listen to much hip hop to think it all glorifies violence. Pick up some lupe fiasco, common, macklemore, and the blue scholars to listen to something different.
 @joefuss I'm lost, what does hip hop have to do with this?
@Just my say @joefuss  I think he's referring to the stabbings and shootings that seem to follow the hip hop crowd like white on rice. Ever wonder why they do pat down searches at hip hop joints and not other night clubs that don't attract the hip hop element?