US shooting spree kills six
A city already anxious about a recent spate of shootings was rattled further when a man walked into an arts cafe near a Seattle university and opened fire, fatally wounding four people. Police say he later killed a woman during a carjacking before shooting himself.
As officers closed in during a widespread manhunt late Wednesday afternoon, the suspect put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. He died at a local hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The five victims brought the number of homicides in Seattle so far this year to 21, matching the total for all of last year, and left city leaders wondering what could be done to stop the bloodshed.
“Two tragic shootings have shaken this city,” Mayor Mike McGinn said at a news conference. “It follows on the heels of multiple, tragic episodes of gun violence that have occurred throughout the city.”
Police did not publicly name the suspect in Wednesday's shootings, but the Seattle Times identified him as Ian Lee Stawicki, 40, of Seattle, citing unidentified law enforcement sources.
