One person injured after man drives car into George Floyd rally in Seattle, opens fire
A man has been arrested after driving a car into a barricade at a protest against police brutality in Seattle's Capitol Hill area. The driver reportedly fired a gun, injuring one person, before fleeing the scene.
Video of the incident shows the man ramming a police barricade during a George Floyd rally in Seattle on Sunday. About a dozen protesters rushed towards his car and began hitting it, before scattering after the man appeared to fire his gun out the window. He then exited the vehicle with his gun drawn as protesters scattered. He was apprehended shortly thereafter by police.
Seattle Fire Department has reported that one person was shot at the intersection of 11th Ave. and Pine St, where the incident unfolded. A male victim has been taken to hospital and is in a stable condition, they said.
Video footage of man driving his car into #BlackLivesMatter protest in Seattle and shooting a man through the window before he flees. #seattle#seattleprotestpic.twitter.com/3iUI7eKEye
— SeanNyberg (@SeanNyberg) June 8, 2020
Police confirmed that they had "recovered a gun" after bringing the suspect into custody.
Suspect in custody, gun recovered after man drove vehicle into crowd at 11th and Pine. Seattle Fire transported victim to hospital. Officers searched, but do not believe there are any additional victims. Will provide updates when available.
— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) June 8, 2020
No further information was immediately available, but speculation swirled on social media as many remarked that the man appeared to be making a beeline for the police after firing several shots. The identity of the suspect who rammed the barricade, as well as his motives, are yet unknown.
An on-the-spot interview with the shooting victim revealed the man knew his assailant.
Story unclear at the moment but young man shot on 11th and Pine. Daniel, 26, wanted to tell his story. With the help of other medics I got a tourniquet on his arm. Street medics were on the spot with gauze and pressure. He walked off the scene. pic.twitter.com/g9Ism58YkF
— Alex Garland (@AGarlandPhoto) June 8, 2020
As he was being led from the scene by emergency responders, the man said that he immediately rushed to the car and “punched [the shooter] in the face” before the gun went off.
I catch him and I punch him in the face. I hear the gunshot go off in my arm... My whole thing was to protect those people down there
While some of the protests that have seized the US in the past two weeks following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis have descended into violence, this weekend’s demonstrations had been peaceful prior to Sunday’s incident.
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