Sam Amico
Five people were injured after a random shooting broke out in the parking lot of Safeway grocery store in Rainier, Washington, over the weekend.
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Rainier is located about an hour-and-a-half south of Seattle.
Each of the five injured were in attendance at a community outreach event designed to curb violence. According to Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz, “dozens and dozens of rounds” were fired, with victims all being in their 20s or 30s.
Police said they are searching for two suspects, but provided few details beyond that. There is no word on what led to the shooting.
As relayed by NBC KING-5, four or the five injured were taken to the hospital, with one of those injured treated at the scene. Both a 25-year-old man and 24-year-old woman were listed as being in satisfactory condition, while a 34-year-old man and 28-year-old man were treated at the hospital and released.
The event has been held in the Safeway parking lot every Friday night for nearly two years.
“Honestly this is really disturbing when you have victims that are just trying to do an outreach effort and help people out and get people on the right path, and then they get hit with a variety of different rounds being fired at them,” Diaz said.
Seattle City Councilmember Tammy Morales released a statement on the violence.
“These young people, out of love for their neighborhood and community, were holding space with free food and music. This senseless shooting should have never happened,” she said.
Two staff members from the Boys and Girls Clubs of King County were among the injured.
“Over the last three years, our Safe Passage Team has hosted a Community Healing Space Activation every Friday in that location without incident. These Activations provide hot meals and resources to community members and create a safe space for grieving, healing, and connection in response to community violence,” the organization said in a statement.
“It is particularly devastating that this act of violence is in direct contrast to the purpose and mission of this space. Our community warriors put their lives on the line every day to ensure that the members of our community are safe. This incident has magnified the issue of gun violence in our neighborhood, and it will take ALL of us working together, to combat this public health crisis. We at Boys & Girls Clubs remain committed to working with youth, community members, community partners, law enforcement, and public officials to end gun violence.”
