Dashcam footage released by the Seattle Police Department shows a large crowd attacking a patrol vehicle, stopping officers from breaking up an illegal street-racing event. A woman died from gunshot wounds after two victims were found in the same area. It is not yet known if the street-racing meeting and the shootings are related.
The department said officers had responded to a report of "a large crowd and vehicles driving recklessly" at the intersection of Broadway and E Pike Street in the Capitol Hill neighborhood at around 1:30 a.m. local time on Sunday.
"Initial attempts to disband the crowd were met with resistance," police said in a statement.
The video shows some people in the crowd throwing objects at the police cruiser and jumping on top of the vehicle, while others made offensive gestures.
Later in the video, officers can be seen slowly backing the vehicle away from the crowd as some follow it and continue to throw objects. Officers "remained in the area to respond to life-safety events," police said.
According to the department, officers heard gunfire shortly before 4 a.m. and responded to find two victims with gunshot wounds at the same intersection.
Officers performed life-saving measures on both until Seattle Fire Department personnel arrived, police said.
A woman, thought to be aged in her 20s or 30s, was treated for life-threatening injuries and transported to Harborview Medical Center in a critical condition. She died on Tuesday, local outlet KOMO News reported.
Another victim, a man thought to be in his late 20s, was transported to the hospital in a stable condition, police said. Two other victims, a man and a woman, showed up at Harborview Medical Center with gunshot wounds.
While officers were on the scene, they heard more gunfire near the 1400 block of Harvard Avenue, police said. They located a man who said someone had shot at him.
"Officers located several shell casings, but no suspect," police said.
No arrests were made in connection to the shooting, and it is not clear if any of the people in the video that shows officers responding to the street-racing incident were arrested.
Newsweek contacted the Seattle Police Department for further comment via email on Thursday.
The Seattle City Council passed legislation on Tuesday to try to reduce drag racing and dangerous driving.
The ordinance will kickstart the city's plans to install speed-enforcement cameras in parts of the city that are said to be heavily impacted by dangerous driving.
"Our community has been pleading for help for years to stop drag racing," Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who chairs the Public Safety Committee and sponsored the legislation, said in a statement.
"This month's crash on Alki Avenue Southwest shows just how dangerous conditions have become. I'm proud to have partnered with neighbors and pass this first-of-its-kind legislation to make our streets safer."
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