Earlier reports from the Associated Press (AP), citing Harborview Medical Center, said the hospital had admitted four victims, including a toddler, a 23-year-old man and two adult women, with one patient in critical condition. The casualty figures shifted as the fire department later confirmed two deaths, reflecting how quickly the picture was changing in the hours after the shooting.

What happened at the scene?

The Seattle Police Department said on X that it was investigating a shooting with multiple victims at the Seattle Center, and urged people to avoid the area. The Seattle Center is a popular tourist site that includes the Space Needle and Climate Pledge Arena, home to the Seattle Kraken and Seattle Storm, and was hosting the Bite of Seattle food festival at the time of the shooting.

Police are investigating a shooting. Multiple shooting victims. Shots fired at the Seattle Center. More information to come. Please avoid the area.

— Seattle Police Department (@SeattlePD) July 27, 2026

A KIRO-TV reporter said she saw at least one person receiving CPR at the scene, CBS News reported. Witnesses described hearing multiple shots before fleeing. Nick Bate told KIRO, “At first, thought there were fireworks, and then everybody flooded and ran past us.” Another witness, Leanne Coles, described the panic as people ran through a nearby garden, ducking as they moved with the crowd, and said she kept glancing up at the Space Needle to keep track of where she was, calling the experience frightening.

Estan Wakonabo, who was at the festival with his girlfriend waiting in line for a photo booth, told AP he was shoved from behind and turned to see people fleeing. “People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground,” Wakonabo said, adding that was when he heard gunshots.

The Bite of Seattle is an annual food festival that began in 1982 and typically draws around 350,000 attendees over three days, according to AP. Police were still investigating the shooting and had not released further details on a motive or suspect at the time of reporting.

Suspect arrested

Seattle police said that one suspect had been arrested, with a second still being sought, after a shooting at a crowded food festival left three people dead. Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis said detectives have no description yet of the outstanding suspect, but investigators believe the two men were shooting at each other and that there is no ongoing threat to the public.

The gunfire broke out around 6pm during the closing hours of the Bite of Seattle, an annual festival drawing hundreds of food and retail vendors and performers, leaving three dead and four others wounded but in stable condition at a hospital, officials said.

With inputs from CBS News and AP