Gunman shoots himself in the head after Seattle rampage leaves four dead, two wounded
-Pastor-Dale-Morgan-
Gunman shoots himself in the head after Seattle rampage leaves four dead, two wounded
- From correspondents in Seattle
- AAP
The suspect, named by police as Ian L. Stawicki, knelt down and
shot himself in the head when officers approached him in the
city's southwest about 4:00pm, KOMO-TV reported.
Media outlets including KOMO and The Seattle
Times initially reported the 40-year-old had died from
his injuries in the hospital but Seattle Police later clarified
that he was in critical condition.
Police said in a statement, "Just after 4pm, a plainclothes
officer spotted the suspect ... and called for backup. As
uniformed officers approached the suspect, he knelt down to the
ground, and shot himself. Medics rushed the man to Harborview
[Hospital] for treatment."
The violent end capped a five-hour manhunt for the gunman, who opened fire inside Cafe Racer, just north of Seattle's University District, around 11am.
Half an hour later, he is believed to have been responsible for the shooting murder of a woman in a downtown Seattle parking lot. Witnesses reported a man and woman arguing, before the man shot the woman in the head and fled in her SUV, KOMO reported.
A witness said, "I see this guy leaning down over this woman kicking her, then he shot her in the face."
The car was later recovered further south with a gun inside, a mile (1.6km) from where the suspect would later shoot himself and nine miles (14.5km) from where the day's violence began at the cafe.
"Unfortunately, these are all connected," a police spokesman said of the day's three shootings, adding that evidence at the various scenes linked the crimes.
The suspect fled on foot after killing three and seriously wounding two in the cafe. At least three of his victims were shot in the head, KCPQ-TV reported. Two male victims were pronounced dead at the scene and a third person, a woman, died shortly afterward, police added via Twitter.
The father of one survivor said of his son's condition, "It's sounding pretty good."
Stawicki's brother, Andrew Stawicki, told the Times, "It's no surprise to me this happened. We could see this coming. Nothing good is going to come with that much anger inside of you," adding that his brother was mentally ill.
Read more about the shooting rampage at KOMO-TV