A man died after he was shot at Westlake Center in downtown Seattle on Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
Seattle police received reports of a shooting in the 1600 block of Fourth Avenue at about 3:45 p.m. and found the wounded man in a stairwell at the mall, next to the atrium leading to Wells Fargo Bank, Seattle Police Detective Mark Jamieson said. Police believe the shooting took place inside the mall, he said.
The man, who was about 55 years old, was taken to Harborview Medical Center, according to Seattle Fire Department spokesman David Cuerpo. He was pronounced dead about three hours later.
A suspect, described as being in his 20s, was seen fleeing.
Westlake Center was closed in the hours after the shooting Tuesday. Crime tape could be seen blocking a Fourth Avenue entrance, while police officers gathered in the vestibule. The department said officers and K-9s were searching the area.
Mohamed Mahmoud, who works in Zuba, a new Mediterranean restaurant in Westlake Center, said he heard two gunshots coming from the mall’s first floor.
“Security tried to cover us and get us out of the mall,” he said. “We just ran.”
Shortly before 5 p.m., Jamieson said officers had searched the entire building and did not find any other injured people. Homicide and gang-unit detectives are investigating the shooting.
It was not immediately clear whether it was a random shooting or the suspect knew the victim, Jamieson said.
The Seattle Center Monorail was taken out of service “due to safety concerns” at the mall, according to a tweet.