Seattle police recovered a modified machine gun and an untraceable ghost gun from the scene of a mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle food festival that left three people dead, including one of the suspects, and at least five others wounded, Police Chief Shon Barnes said Tuesday.
The shooting occurred Sunday at Seattle Center, a park near the Space Needle, during the three-day food festival. It involved at least three suspects, Barnes said at a televised news conference. One suspect, 19-year-old Junior Cee Niko Semo, died at the scene. A 15-year-old suspect was disarmed and arrested. At least one additional suspect remains at large.
Victims and Injuries
Two people uninvolved in the shooting were killed: Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, 44, and Ashley Whitehead, 56. Among those wounded by crossfire was a two-year-old boy. Others were trampled as the crowd fled to safety.
Police recovered casings from fired cartridges and three pistols from the scene. The 15-year-old suspect was found with a 9mm ghost gun made from a parts kit by the defunct company Polymer80. Officers also seized a Glock pistol modified with an auto sear, or “switch,” enabling it to fire as a fully automatic machine gun. Both pistols had extended magazines: the Glock held 40 rounds and the ghost gun held 33. Washington state generally bans firearms that carry more than 10 rounds. A third .45-caliber pistol was not used in the crime.
Weapon Concerns and Investigation
Illegal machine guns increase a firearm’s rate of fire while reducing accuracy, while ghost guns make it easier for prohibited persons to acquire firearms and harder for law enforcement to trace weapons, officials said. Cheap auto sears that convert semiautomatic pistols to fully automatic have proliferated due to 3D printing and online sales. Unserialized ghost guns were legal under federal law until the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives began regulating them as firearms in 2022, though 3D printing still allows illegal production.
Police are trying to locate a person who arrived at a nearby hospital with what may have been a gunshot wound. Authorities are reviewing physical evidence, digital recordings, and camera footage to reconstruct events and find at least one suspect still at large. The shooting was likely gang-related, according to Seattle police. “We’re working to determine the groups involved and what their relationship may be,” Barnes said.
