Shooting at Seattle food festival kills 3, leaves 4 wounded; 15-year-old arrested, 2nd suspect sought

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Updated on: July 27, 2026 / 3:44 PM EDT / CBS News

Three people were killed and at least four others wounded in a shooting at a food festival near Seattle's Space Needle on Sunday evening, police said. 

Officers arrested a 15-year-old in connection with the shooting, although officials clarified that no one had been detained on homicide charges. The teen in custody was booked as part of a firearm and assault investigation, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said at a news conference on Monday.

Seattle Assistant Police Chief Tyrone Davis previously said that the incident involved two people they believe were shooting at each other. The second person remained on the loose as of Monday.

Davis said officers working in the area rushed in and confronted one shooter, which kept more people from being wounded. Two guns were recovered, he added.

Seven people were shot in all, officials said. CPR on two wasn't successful and they were pronounced dead at the scene. They were identified as a 19-year-old man and a 44-year-old man. A third victim, a 56-year-old woman, later died at Harborview Medical Center. 

A 2-year-old boy, 39-year-old woman and 23-year-old man were also taken to Harborview and were in stable condition, Davis said, adding that a 40-year-old woman with minor injuries didn't want to go to the hospital but showed up later at the University of Washington Medical Center.

The shooting occurred around 6 p.m. local time.

Seattle Shooting

Police cover a person after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival on Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Washington. Estan Wakonabo

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Sunday night that several of its agents were at the scene and that Seattle police would lead the investigation. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said the state SWAT team also responded at the request of Seattle police.

The Seattle Center is a popular tourist location that includes the iconic Space Needle and Climate Pledge Arena, home of the Seattle Kraken and Seattle Storm. The area was filled with people attending the annual Bite of Seattle food festival when the gunfire rang out.

Several witnesses told CBS Seattle affiliate KIRO-TV they heard multiple shots before running away. 

"At first, thought there were fireworks, and then everybody flooded and ran past us," Nick Bate told the station.

Leanne Coles told KIRO, "Everybody started running, and so we just ran too, and we ran through the garden and we ducked and we decided to keep running with the crowd until we got — I looked up for the Space Needle to try to keep track of where we were. It was really scary."

The shooting in Seattle brought the total number of mass shootings in the U.S. this year to 271, according to the Gun Violence Archive which tracks gun violence in all 50 states. The tally includes incidents where four or more people were shot, not including the gunman. 

The numbers so far put 2026 on track to exceed the total of 407 mass shootings nationwide in 2025. That's down from a peak of 611 mass shootings across the U.S. in 2021.

Anna Schecter contributed to this report.

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Shooting at Seattle food festival kills 3, leaves 4 wounded; 15-year-old arrested, 2nd suspect sought | Readon News