South Seattle neighborhood rocked by 14-year-old’s shooting death

SEATTLE — A South Seattle neighborhood was rocked by the death of a 14-year-old boy shot and killed Thursday evening.

The crime led to a chase from South Seattle all the way to Everett to catch three potential suspects, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.

Friday morning, a handful of people came out to see the area where the teen was shot for themselves. The community in the New Holly neighborhood is trying to come to terms with the teen killed the latest incident of gun violence.

When KIRO 7′s cameras were in the area, two women came to the section of sidewalk that had been sealed off Thursday night.

One of the women laid down on the sidewalk where the teen was killed, and another woman identified her as the victim’s mother.

The second woman -- who also said she was related to the woman lying on the sidewalk -- eventually helped the woman up off the sidewalk and walked her home. It was an emotional scene that played out very early in the morning on Rockery Drive.

A little later, a man whose door was right in front of the murder scene also came out to inspect the area and his vehicle. The man did not want to show his face and asked to be identified by the initials AQN.

He spoke to KIRO 7 about the murder and admitted he realized quickly what was happening when he heard noise outside.

“I said, ‘OK, it’s fireworks,” but it was gunshots,” said AQN.

His story is one of trying to help and failing to save the boy’s life after being shot practically on his doorstep.

“I come out and look at it -- the kid was laid down here… I run in the house, I grabbed a towel and give it to him … Yeah the blood coming on the left side,” he said.

Seattle police arrived in the neighborhood at around 8:30 p.m. for the shooting that left the boy bleeding and dying on the sidewalk, right across from a park where goals are set up for children to play soccer, and a playground welcomes kids to play.

AQN says he knew the boy and his family.

“The kid is a good kid,” he said.

The shooting in South Seattle was not the end of the incident. A chase that started on Rockery Drive raced up Interstate 5 to the Everett area, where three teens were detained.

AQN was emotional considering the age of the boy killed and how he died.

“It’s sad every day -- young generation die for no reason. The (guns are too) much. I wish the government -- they control the guns you know--everything is scary now, you can’t even go outside enjoy it -- you know it’s too much,” he said.

Seattle Police are still investigating what led up to the shooting and whether the victim had a relationship with the people in custody.

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