SEATTLE — Another shooting occurred in Seattle overnight after a weekend of gun violence.
Police said a man shot and killed a 24-year-old at Tenth Avenue East and East John Street in the Capitol Hill neighborhood just after 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Officers interviewed a 39-year-old man who said the man who died was trying to rob him when he opened fire.
A news conference was held Tuesday morning after a rash of six shootings over the weekend. Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz and other city leaders spoke.
Diaz said Tuesday morning’s shooting continues a troubling trend of more than 100 additional shootings so far this year compared to this time last year.
“We’re better than this. This community came together in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and it is going to take an even greater community effort to push back on the relentless threat of violence,” Diaz said.
The Seattle Police Department has been stretched thin after losing close to 300 officers over the last year.
“After 300 officers have left city employment, I believe in increased recruitment and retention should include a focus on community policing officers,” Seattle City Council member Alex Pedersen said.
Diaz said officers have taken 100 guns off the street this month, but he needs about 1,400 officers to police the city and prevent gun crimes.
“The unrelenting pace of the violence in recent days reminds us that this should be unacceptable. People need to put down their guns,” Diaz said.
Seattle Human Services Department Safe and Thriving Communities Division director Rex Brown also spoke about programs being funded to help communities and curb the violence.
Over the weekend, a 42-year-old man was shot in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle on Friday morning.
On Friday, a man was struck by a stray bullet in downtown Seattle as two suspects shot at each other.
In Lake City Saturday, two people were found fatally shot in a unit at the Hillcourt Apartments on NE I40th Street.
Also Saturday, a man was hurt in a shooting following a fight in the Chinatown-International District.
There was also a shooting and vehicle pursuit after a fight near a Pioneer Square club early Saturday, Seattle police said.
In West Seattle Saturday, a man was assaulted and shots were fired in the 1900 block of Harbor Avenue Southwest.
“It was a violent night in the city. We need to have additional officers out there,” SPD Detective Patrick Michaud said on Saturday.
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