Seattle – A gunman opened fire early Saturday in a home, killing six young partygoers and critically injuring at least one other before committing suicide when confronted by police outside.
The heavily armed shooter fired repeatedly as he made his way into the house, killing four men and two women, police said. He then went upstairs and tried to get into a locked bathroom where a young couple were hiding. Unable to enter, he fired through the door before leaving the pair unharmed.
The victims were found in several places in the rented home in the Capitol Hill neighborhood east of downtown, police said.
One of three other people taken to a hospital died, and the third was in stable condition, a nursing supervisor said.
“It’s one of the largest crime scenes the city has ever had,” said Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske.
Dozens of rounds were fired in the house, where about 20 people ranging from their early teens to mid-20s had gathered after a larger party nearby titled “Better Off Undead.” Some of the guests wore makeup “to look as if they were dead,” the chief said.
He said the shooter left the home briefly and returned with a handgun and a 12-gauge pistol-grip shotgun, which Kerlikowske described as “a weapon not designed for hunting purposes but for hunting people.”
The gunman, identified only as a local man in his late 20s, also wore bandoliers of shells for the shotgun and carried additional clips for the handgun, the chief said. In his truck, police found an assault rife and multiple “banana clips” carrying 30 bullets each.
As the gunman walked the half-block from his truck to the house, he spray-painted the word “NOW” in orange on the sidewalk and on the steps of a neighbor’s home, police said.
Officers said they were not aware of a possible motive.
