King County prosecutors charged the teenager accused of being one of the shooters at Seattle Center with first degree assault with an enhanced firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree on Wednesday.
The 15-year-old boy was arrested after a gunfight broke out at the food festival Bite of Seattle on Sunday around 6 pm that killed three people and injured at least four, including a two-year-old boy. Charging documents detail how the teenager was found by police firing into a crowd with a ghost gun, an illegal, untraceable firearm that is privately manufactured, and often homemade.
According to a Seattle Police Department report filed by prosecutors on Wednesday, police officers responding to the shooting saw the teenager “pointing and firing a handgun into the vendor area.” At least one officer saw the suspect “firing his gun multiple times into the crowd.”
The 15-year-old was taken into custody and officers found that he had a 9mm handgun, identified as a Polymer80, with an extended magazine. However, according to a preliminary analysis by the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab, none of the bullets fired by the young suspect led to the deaths of two bystanders, Ashley Whitehead, 56, and Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, 44.
SPD Detective Matt Black wrote: “The preliminary results appear to exclude the Polymer80 handgun as the firearm involved in those deaths.”
One of the people killed, Junior Cee Niko Semo, 19, may have been involved in the shooting, which investigators believe was gang-related. Officers gave Niko Semo first aid, but he was declared dead at the scene. Police are searching for at least one other suspect in connection with the shooting.
Thirteen shell casings were collected at the scene. Law enforcement officials think these bullets came from four handguns. On Tuesday, former Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes told reporters police had found three firearms at Seattle Center.
One witness to the shooting was interviewed by officers. According to the police report, that person heard the first volley of shots but thought they were fired by an unidentified third suspect, described as a slim Black male wearing a blue shirt. The witness then saw the 15-year-old draw his handgun.
They also spotted Niko Semo near the teen and believed he “was hit by the initial burst of fire and saw him crumple to the ground.”
After taking the 15-year-old suspect into custody, police led him by Niko Semo and heard the teen say “Love you bro.”
Prosecutors are now requesting that the 15-year-old be tried as an adult, which could delay proceedings. According to a spokesperson from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, a judge will decide after hearing from the prosecution and defense, a process that could take several months.
