Teen Killed In Early Monday Shooting At Seattle's CHOP

SEATTLE, WA — A 16-year-old boy is dead and a 14-year-old boy seriously injured after an early morning shooting inside Seattle's Capitol Hill Organized Protest area, known as CHOP, according to the police department.

Seattle Police tweeted that the shooting happened near 12th Avenue and Pike Street, on the same corner where the East Precinct is located. Police initially said the person killed was an adult man and corrected the information in an updated blotter post shortly after noon.

According to a hospital spokesperson, one victim was taken to Harborview Medical Center in a private vehicle at 3:15 a.m., and the second arrived in an ambulance 15 minutes later. The hospital confirmed the older teen later died from his injuries, while the younger boy remains in critical condition.

Police said several 911 callers reported a white Jeep Cherokee near one of the barriers before "several unidentified people" fired shots into the vehicle. Both victims were taken from the scene before investigators arrived. As the Capitol Hill Seattle blog reports, witnesses reported shots being fired from a vehicle in Cal Anderson Park prior to the deadly shooting.

Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best held a news conference at CHOP later in the morning and said detectives still had very little information on what led up to the shooting, or who pulled the trigger.

"We're not sure who shot at the car, or why they shot at the car," Best said. "Detectives are searching social media and hoping someone has information and will come forward."

It's at least the fourth shooting to be reported in the vicinity of the protest area. The area was occupied by protesters after police abandoned the East Precinct building following several days of confrontations at a police barricade near 11th Avenue and East Pine Street during protests against the death of George Floyd and police abuse in the U.S.

Best said the recent violence underlined the need for people to clear the protest area, and for officers to return to the precinct building.

"Two men are dead, and a child — a 14-year-old — is hospitalized, and we don't know what is gonna happen to that kid," Best said. "Enough is enough here."

Last week, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said that police would return to the building and protesters would be asked to leave in the wake of the violence. According to The Seattle Times, the area around the precinct was busy Sunday afternoon and barriers that the mayor said would be removed by Sunday morning were still in place. People were also continuing the camp at Cal Anderson Park.

The chief did not elaborate on how or when officers will return to the precinct.

"We're going to figure out how we are going to get back in this area," Best said. "Mostly, we're trying to make sure that we're peaceful in whatever that we do."

The Associated Press and Patch reporter Lucas Combos contributed to this report.