SEATTLE — Queen Anne neighbors awoke early Sunday to the sound of gunshots just a few hundred feet from Seattle Center.
A Seattle man was lying mortally wounded on Warren Avenue, leaving those who knew him stunned. Now, Seattle police are looking for whomever shot and killed him.
Friends have identified the victim as Trevon McKoy, a 21-year-old rapper who was beginning to make a name for himself. Lower Queen Anne, with its many restaurants and bars, is busy on a weekend night, so there were a lot of people who likely saw what happened.
"And there was a person laying right, right on that sidewalk right there," said Dan Christian, pointing to blood still staining the sidewalk on Warren Avenue.
Christian said he was asleep when the shooting started just after 2:00 Easter Sunday morning. In fact, the commotion woke him up.
"We could see him," Christian said. "And luckily, the Mustang was blocking out what we understand was where the gunshot was in his head. So we just saw his legs laying there. And it was pretty obvious he was motionless."
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Seattle police said McKoy was leaving a party at the Seattle Center. Eyewitnesses said he was walking north on Warren Avenue when he was shot. Residents in the nearby apartment building tried to revive him but he died on the scene.
"All I know is that the people there were saying that he got shot,” said Kendall Dillingham. "People were scared and running and stuff."
Dillingham, McKoy's former classmate at Franklin High School said he got the news as he was boarding a plane to return to Eastern Washington University in Cheney. He said he is still wrestling with McKoy's murder.
"Like, I didn't believe it was true at first," Dillingham said. "Because I was like, there was no way he would be in a position to be shot like that."
He describes McKoy as a promising young rapper riding a recent wave of success.
"And I feel like someone just got jealous of his recent success. And they handled it how they handled it," a distraught Dillingham said. "I don't really know the whole story behind it. But it shouldn't have happened like this."
McKoy was also a student at Bellevue College and should have been on campus today for the start of spring quarter.
"My team listens to him quite a bit," said Bellevue College's basketball coach Donald Brady. "So that was kind of where I found out about his music from my players playing his music videos in our team room and things like that. He absolutely has a following."
Seattle police said they do not have a description of the suspect, but they know a lot of people were there when McKoy was killed. One eyewitness said McKoy, who was known as the rapper "JuiceTheGod," had performed at the party he attended just before he died.
"You don't even have to give your name," said Seattle police Detective Patrick Michaud. "If you have a tip that you think we might need, call us, let us know, and we'll be able to look into it."
Anyone with information is asked to call 911.
Homicide detectives are interviewing witnesses and ask anyone with information to please call the Homicide/Assault Tip Line at (206) 233-5000.