Sound Stories. Sound Voices.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
You are on the KUOW archive site. Click here to go to our current site.

3 officers shot, 1 suspect dead in Seattle 7-Eleven robbery

The scene of a shooting in downtown Seattle on Thursday afternoon.
Courtesy of Erin Cline
The scene of a shooting in downtown Seattle on Thursday afternoon.

Three Seattle Police officers were shot on Thursday afternoon after a robbery at a 7-Eleven convenience store in downtown Seattle. One of the three suspects they were chasing died from injuries sustained during the chase.

The shooting occurred as police officers chased two suspects on First Avenue around 1:30 p.m.

"There was an exchange of gunfire. That suspect fled into a building nearby and was barricaded in that building," said Deputy Chief Carmen Best.

Best said one of the officers, age 42, was struck in the chest but saved by her bulletproof vest. She was treated at Harborview Medical Center and released Thursday night. The other officer, age 30, was hit in the face and rib cage. His condition was upgraded from critical to serious. A third officer suffered a hand wound.

The shooting happened several blocks from the 7-Eleven, near Madison Street and Western Avenue. That's seven blocks south of the Pike Place Market.

The suspect who fired at police was found dead inside the Federal Building. It was unclear how he died.

Two suspects are in custody, according to Seattle Police.  

Police flooded the area, closing streets and warning people to stay away.The red outlines the streets that were closed today in downtown Seattle due to the shooting.

[asset-images[{"caption": "The red outlines the streets that were closed today in downtown Seattle due to the shooting.", "fid": "135538", "style": "card_280", "uri": "public://201704/downtown_0.jpg", "attribution": "Credit Seattle Police Department Twitter"}]]"We've got the doors locked, and the cops are all around us," said Cindi Raykovich, co-owner of a nearby running shoe store, according to the Associated Press. "They want us to stay in the back room. When we walk out front, there's a guy standing out front who points at us and tells us to go back."

Year started with KUOW: 2005