SEATTLE — A mother is looking for answers after her son was shot and killed in Seattle following a night out in Pioneer Square. Leo Fotu, 22, was killed in early April while visiting Seattle from San Francisco.
"I want to know why,” said Fotu's mother, Denise Frost. “Like, you know, why did it happen to him?"
Frost said her son was visiting Seattle with his cousin when he was fatally shot in Pioneer Square. Seattle police confirmed a person was shot and found lying on the street of the 200 block of South Washington Street around 2:15 a.m. on April 2. Police and medics attempted life-saving measures, but the victim died at the scene.
"[Fotu] was special to me, and to his family, and his friends,” said Frost. “He had so much that he wanted to do. So many things that he wanted to accomplish.”
Fotu lived in San Francisco, and his mother said he recently enlisted in the Marines. He was in Seattle for a visit before heading to San Diego to begin training.
The night of the shooting, Frost said her son was at Stage Nightclub when a fight broke out between a group of women, including Fotu's cousin. Frost shared videos posted to social media with KING 5 that show a large crowd outside the nightclub where gunshots can be heard. A second video shows her son lying in the street as paramedics arrived. Frost said she's shared the videos with Seattle police.
"It was a lot to take in at one time,” said Frost. “There were just so many people trying to tell me what happened.”
But Frost wants to know what happened from Seattle police, not from people and social media. She wants to see an arrest made in her son's case and an answer regarding why her son was killed on a visit to the city.
"I just feel like, if words were given from him to the other person, that it could have been handled in a different way. It didn't have to go in that direction where [the suspect] had to use a gun. It just breaks my heart," said Frost.
Police will only say the investigation remains open and active.
"Part of me is like, I feel like I'm losing hope with the process,” said Frost. “I just need something to kind of ease my pain, you know?"
Anyone with information is asked to call the Seattle Police Department tip line at 206-233-5000.