SEATTLE — Seattle police arrested a man early Sunday morning after he allegedly opened fire in a Pioneer Square nightclub.
Officers were monitoring a crowd near Occidental Avenue and Yesler Way when they heard a gunshot just before 2 a.m., according to the Seattle Police Department's (SPD) blotter post.
Officers saw people flooding out of the nightclub and pointing towards a man. SPD said that witnesses signaled to officers that the man was the shooter.
The man was taken into custody without incident immediately.
Officers entered the club and found a man suffering from a gunshot wound. They provided first-aid until the Seattle Fire Department arrived and took the victim to Harborview Medical Center.
SPD said the man’s injuries were non-life threatening.
Witnesses at the scene said the suspect and victim argued prior to the shooting.
SPD's Gun Violence Reduction Unit responded to the scene to conduct the investigation.
The incident happened around the same time that another shooting, this one fatal, occurred outside a sports pub south of Seattle in Des Moines.
As of Sunday morning, three people were killed and another three were injured in what police believe began as a dispute between two people inside of La Familia Sports Pub and Lounge around 2 a.m.
Officers are still looking for the two suspects they believe were involved in the Des Moines shooting.
The level of gun violence has continued to be an issue in the region and across the nation.
In Seattle, Police Chief Adrian Diaz has called the level of the city’s gun violence unacceptable, saying “people need to put down their guns.”
The rise in violence comes as SPD faces historic staffing shortages.
An effort, prompted by the rise in gun violence, to give SPD more funds to help increase staff was shot down by city council last week after community members fiercely opposed amendments to the budget plan and called for more cuts to police funding.
As of Aug. 31, Seattle has seen 390 shootings this year, 24 of which have resulted in death, according to SPD’s crime data.
The city is on pace for more shootings this year than in 2020 when the city had 438, which was 50 more than each of the previous eight years.
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