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Your guide to the latest news from around the Northwest

May 16, 2012 at 10:05 PM

Hostile crowd delays treatment for man fatally shot in Rainier Beach

UPDATE AT 10:25 A.M THURSDAY: Police now say the victim was 31 years old, not 20.

Seattle Times staff and Associated Press

Police say a hostile crowd delayed emergency responders from helping a man as he lay dying from multiple gunshot wounds Wednesday night in the parking lot of a South Seattle fast food restaurant.

The 20 31-year-old man was fatally shot at a Rainier Beach Jack in the Box, the second gun violence in the same block in a week.

The man was taken to Harborview Medical Center where he died in the emergency room, according to a nursing supervisor.

Officers, just down the street, arrived moments after receiving a 911 call reporting gunshots during a disturbance. A crowd of 25-50 people, gathered in the parking lot, was so hostile that emergency responders were delayed in reaching the victim, said SPD spokesman Mark Jamieson.

Jamieson says fire department medics couldn’t reach the man for 5 to 7 minutes. He says 15 officers were called in to quell the crowd.

Jamieson says people in the crowd were posturing, ripping off their shirts and challenging officers to fight.

“Officers were not able to get in to the victim right away,” he said. “Emotions were heated.”

The crowd quickly scattered. Detectives were able to interview a few witnesses, but police are requesting that anyone with information about the shooting call an SPD tipline at 206-233-5000.

Jamieson says there’s no known motive or suspect in the shooting.

Rainier Beach has seen a spate of recent violence. Last Saturday, a man was shot in the leg in the same block as Wednesday’s shooting, and in February, two men were killed a few blocks away. Two other shootings in January occurred nearby as well.

Comments | More in General news, The Blotter | Topics: Rainier Beach, Seattle Police, shooting

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The Today File is a general news blog featuring real-time coverage of Seattle and the Northwest. It is reported by the news staff of The Seattle Times and edited by Assistant Metro Editor Nick Provenza.

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