More "children" for HCI's stats.
Rash of recent shootings is 'very unusual,' police chief says
Gangs and drugs linked to gunfire that killed 3 and injured 8
By Kimberly A.C. Wilson and Tracy Johnson,
Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporters
Two teens were killed in earlier shootings, and late yesterday a 22-year-old man shot in the head Sunday died from his injuries.
Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske, on the job for just a month, called the violence "a significant development."
"In talking with some of the people who have been here a long time, these recent crimes are significantly different," the chief said. "People should know they're likely gang-related, but it's still very unusual."
Kerlikowske met yesterday with gang, robbery and homicide investigators. No arrests have been made.
One of five men wounded in a gunfight outside a hip-hop nightclub in Pioneer Square early Saturday acknowledged that rival gang members triggered the violence.
Before the rash of shootings, slayings in Seattle were hovering near a 15-year low. Yesterday, homicide detectives opened their 27th case of the year after responding to three consecutive nights of gun violence.
Typically, Seattle logs fewer than 50 homicides a year.
"If you looked at our homicide rates earlier this month, we were several below last year's numbers. Things were really slow before last week," said Capt. John Diaz, who heads the major crimes unit.
"Sure, this might be a short-term (phenomenon) but that doesn't really the help the victims' loved ones."
It certainly hasn't lessened the mourning by Vuth Vonn's family.
Maintenance workers found the 17-year-old youth's body behind a workshop in the High Point housing development early on Sept. 19. An autopsy determined he had been shot in the head, and police suspect Vonn, who was known to have ties to a local gang, fell victim to other gangsters.
Four days later, two men opened fire just after 3 a.m. across the street from a Pioneer Square nightclub.
Investigators have determined a motive for the shooting, which seriously wounded five men, including the rival gunmen, who remained hospitalized last night in serious condition.
Most of the casualties of the gunfight had racked up a number of drug convictions and were affiliated with the same Seattle gang, police say. One man was carrying more than $2,500 in cash. Another was recovering from a previous shooting two weeks earlier.
Assault charges against the gunmen were pending last night.
One of the people shot in Pioneer Square, Michael Harper, 22, took a bullet in his right leg. Another fractured his left femur.
Harper said he and three friends "went to the club when it was letting out, just to talk to the females."
Harper said a group of guys -- whom he says are gang members -- began arguing with his friend. He said he didn't know what it was about; he only knew they were sorely outnumbered if trouble started.
It did.
"They were already razzed up about something. . . . One dude was angry with my friend, (who) didn't want to fight," Harper said. "The dude that shot was right in front of me. The next thing I knew, he popped me."
Harper said his friend pulled a gun -- one Harper said he didn't know his buddy had -- and fired back. The crowd panicked, but Harper saw little else.
"I took off running at full speed, and when I made it to the alley, that's when my leg gave out," he said.
Harper acknowledges he used to be in a gang and never really left it. But early Saturday, he said he wasn't flashing gang signs or trying to incite any rivalry.
"Our whole intent was, instead of going in the club, we could kiss the females coming out," said Harper, who was stretched out at home last night and needs crutches to get around. "We were looking to have a good night."
Two of Harper's friends were shot. The one who he said returned the gunfire remained at Harborview Medical Center last night, and another was sent home Saturday. Harper faces surgery in about two weeks to remove the bullets lodged in his legs.
In another shooting Saturday night, 18-year-old John Diklich was shot to death in the 9000 block of 16th Avenue Southwest. Detectives suspect he was killed to settle a gang dispute.
The bloody weekend culminated Sunday night in the International District when two men pulled up to a maroon sedan and fired at its 20-year-old driver and three passengers.
One of the passengers, a 22-year-old man, died yesterday from a gunshot to the head. His identity wasn't released.
A 14-year-old girl remained in serious condition last night with a gunshot wound to the head. The driver, with wounds to the arm, leg and chest, was also in serious condition.
And a 15-year-old girl was in satisfactory condition with a hand injury.
Police said there were signs early into their investigation that drugs or a gang beef were at the root of that shooting. Further details were not immediately available.
For some International District residents and merchants, learning that Sunday night's shooting apparently stemmed from a gang rivalry came as a relief.
No one wants to see gang wars, but crimes with no rhyme or reason can be far more terrifying for neighbors, said Pauline Zeestraten, co-chair of the district's Community Action Partnership.
"Our community wants very good communication with the police if the shootings or beatings involve total strangers," said Zeestraten. "If that were the case, I would need to be worried for my own safety."
Shootings: A Chronology
Eight people have been wounded and three others killed in Seattle shootings during the past week.
WEST SEATTLE, SEPT. 19:
Vuth Vonn, 17; shot to death. Police say Vonn was affiliated with a local gang and his death was related to drug dealing. Criminal record includes a drug charge.
WEST SEATTLE, SEPT. 23:
John Diklich, 18; shot to death. Slaying was gang-related, police say. Criminal record includes convictions for car theft and possession of stolen property.
PIONEER SQUARE, SEPT. 23:
Gunfight was gang-related and all five victims gang members, police say.
18-year-old man, gunshot wound to head; serious condition. Convictions for third-degree theft, possession of marijuana, escape and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.
25-year-old man, gunshot wound to abdomen; serious condition. Criminal record limited to driving infractions.
26-year-old man, gunshot wound to chest; serious condition. Criminal record includes attempting to elude police and warrant for 1998 drug charge.
22-year-old man, gunshot wounds to each leg; released from hospital Saturday.
24-year-old man, gunshot wound to groin; released from hospital Saturday. Criminal record includes convictions for fourth-degree assault and attempting to elude police.
INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT, SEPT. 24:
Police believe the shootings were gang-related.
15-year-old girl, gunshot wound to hand; satisfactory condition.
14-year-old girl, gunshot wound to head; upgraded from critical to serious condition yesterday.
20-year-old man, gunshot wounds to right arm, right leg and chest; serious condition.
22-year-old man, gunshot wound to head; died late yesterday.
Seattle police officials yesterday blamed gang and drug disputes for four separate shooting incidents in the last week that sent eight people to hospitals and three more to the morgue.
The spate of deadly gunfire began last Tuesday in West Seattle and culminated with a quadruple shooting Sunday night in the International District.
© 1999-2000 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Rash of recent shootings is 'very unusual,' police chief says
Gangs and drugs linked to gunfire that killed 3 and injured 8
By Kimberly A.C. Wilson and Tracy Johnson,
Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporters
Two teens were killed in earlier shootings, and late yesterday a 22-year-old man shot in the head Sunday died from his injuries.
Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske, on the job for just a month, called the violence "a significant development."
"In talking with some of the people who have been here a long time, these recent crimes are significantly different," the chief said. "People should know they're likely gang-related, but it's still very unusual."
Kerlikowske met yesterday with gang, robbery and homicide investigators. No arrests have been made.
One of five men wounded in a gunfight outside a hip-hop nightclub in Pioneer Square early Saturday acknowledged that rival gang members triggered the violence.
Before the rash of shootings, slayings in Seattle were hovering near a 15-year low. Yesterday, homicide detectives opened their 27th case of the year after responding to three consecutive nights of gun violence.
Typically, Seattle logs fewer than 50 homicides a year.
"If you looked at our homicide rates earlier this month, we were several below last year's numbers. Things were really slow before last week," said Capt. John Diaz, who heads the major crimes unit.
"Sure, this might be a short-term (phenomenon) but that doesn't really the help the victims' loved ones."
It certainly hasn't lessened the mourning by Vuth Vonn's family.
Maintenance workers found the 17-year-old youth's body behind a workshop in the High Point housing development early on Sept. 19. An autopsy determined he had been shot in the head, and police suspect Vonn, who was known to have ties to a local gang, fell victim to other gangsters.
Four days later, two men opened fire just after 3 a.m. across the street from a Pioneer Square nightclub.
Investigators have determined a motive for the shooting, which seriously wounded five men, including the rival gunmen, who remained hospitalized last night in serious condition.
Most of the casualties of the gunfight had racked up a number of drug convictions and were affiliated with the same Seattle gang, police say. One man was carrying more than $2,500 in cash. Another was recovering from a previous shooting two weeks earlier.
Assault charges against the gunmen were pending last night.
One of the people shot in Pioneer Square, Michael Harper, 22, took a bullet in his right leg. Another fractured his left femur.
Harper said he and three friends "went to the club when it was letting out, just to talk to the females."
Harper said a group of guys -- whom he says are gang members -- began arguing with his friend. He said he didn't know what it was about; he only knew they were sorely outnumbered if trouble started.
It did.
"They were already razzed up about something. . . . One dude was angry with my friend, (who) didn't want to fight," Harper said. "The dude that shot was right in front of me. The next thing I knew, he popped me."
Harper said his friend pulled a gun -- one Harper said he didn't know his buddy had -- and fired back. The crowd panicked, but Harper saw little else.
"I took off running at full speed, and when I made it to the alley, that's when my leg gave out," he said.
Harper acknowledges he used to be in a gang and never really left it. But early Saturday, he said he wasn't flashing gang signs or trying to incite any rivalry.
"Our whole intent was, instead of going in the club, we could kiss the females coming out," said Harper, who was stretched out at home last night and needs crutches to get around. "We were looking to have a good night."
Two of Harper's friends were shot. The one who he said returned the gunfire remained at Harborview Medical Center last night, and another was sent home Saturday. Harper faces surgery in about two weeks to remove the bullets lodged in his legs.
In another shooting Saturday night, 18-year-old John Diklich was shot to death in the 9000 block of 16th Avenue Southwest. Detectives suspect he was killed to settle a gang dispute.
The bloody weekend culminated Sunday night in the International District when two men pulled up to a maroon sedan and fired at its 20-year-old driver and three passengers.
One of the passengers, a 22-year-old man, died yesterday from a gunshot to the head. His identity wasn't released.
A 14-year-old girl remained in serious condition last night with a gunshot wound to the head. The driver, with wounds to the arm, leg and chest, was also in serious condition.
And a 15-year-old girl was in satisfactory condition with a hand injury.
Police said there were signs early into their investigation that drugs or a gang beef were at the root of that shooting. Further details were not immediately available.
For some International District residents and merchants, learning that Sunday night's shooting apparently stemmed from a gang rivalry came as a relief.
No one wants to see gang wars, but crimes with no rhyme or reason can be far more terrifying for neighbors, said Pauline Zeestraten, co-chair of the district's Community Action Partnership.
"Our community wants very good communication with the police if the shootings or beatings involve total strangers," said Zeestraten. "If that were the case, I would need to be worried for my own safety."
Shootings: A Chronology
Eight people have been wounded and three others killed in Seattle shootings during the past week.
WEST SEATTLE, SEPT. 19:
Vuth Vonn, 17; shot to death. Police say Vonn was affiliated with a local gang and his death was related to drug dealing. Criminal record includes a drug charge.
WEST SEATTLE, SEPT. 23:
John Diklich, 18; shot to death. Slaying was gang-related, police say. Criminal record includes convictions for car theft and possession of stolen property.
PIONEER SQUARE, SEPT. 23:
Gunfight was gang-related and all five victims gang members, police say.
18-year-old man, gunshot wound to head; serious condition. Convictions for third-degree theft, possession of marijuana, escape and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.
25-year-old man, gunshot wound to abdomen; serious condition. Criminal record limited to driving infractions.
26-year-old man, gunshot wound to chest; serious condition. Criminal record includes attempting to elude police and warrant for 1998 drug charge.
22-year-old man, gunshot wounds to each leg; released from hospital Saturday.
24-year-old man, gunshot wound to groin; released from hospital Saturday. Criminal record includes convictions for fourth-degree assault and attempting to elude police.
INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT, SEPT. 24:
Police believe the shootings were gang-related.
15-year-old girl, gunshot wound to hand; satisfactory condition.
14-year-old girl, gunshot wound to head; upgraded from critical to serious condition yesterday.
20-year-old man, gunshot wounds to right arm, right leg and chest; serious condition.
22-year-old man, gunshot wound to head; died late yesterday.
Seattle police officials yesterday blamed gang and drug disputes for four separate shooting incidents in the last week that sent eight people to hospitals and three more to the morgue.
The spate of deadly gunfire began last Tuesday in West Seattle and culminated with a quadruple shooting Sunday night in the International District.
© 1999-2000 Seattle Post-Intelligencer