Three people have been killed and another five wounded – including a toddler – during a mass shooting at a popular Seattle food festival Sunday evening.

Shots rang out at the annual Bite of Seattle event, a street food and live music event for families held at the Seattle Center, a 74-acre entertainment and cultural complex in the city’s downtown area that is home to its iconic Space Needle.

The festival has been held every year since 1982 and typically draws 350,000 attendees over its “three days of food, drink, and community celebration,” according to its website.

This year’s event was marked by tragedy, however, when gunfire broke out at around 6 p.m. local time, with police subsequently saying they believed that two people had been shooting at each other, catching members of the public in the crossfire.

A young male suspect is already in custody, Seattle Assistant Police Chief Tyrone Davis said at a late press conference, while a manhunt is underway for a second person believed to have been involved.

The attack is the latest of at least 271 mass shootings that have been recorded in the U.S. this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

What happened?

Dozens of officers were providing security at the event and some of them witnessed the suspects begin firing at one another as the festival began winding down, Davis said.

A large number of police and emergency crews responded and began evacuating the area around the sprawling Seattle Center campus.

Faith Adia Hunter said she and her friends had just bought crepes from a vendor when the shooting started nearby, prompting her group to seek shelter in the nearby Seattle Children’s Museum.

“We were right next to him when it started so we took off running,” she said. “So we took off running too into the building with the crowd.”

Amid the chaos, many vendors bolted toward the exits, abandoning their stalls. Hours afterward, some gathered around the police tape, wondering when they would be allowed to return to collect their tents, food and cooking equipment.

One of the vendors, Roberto Ramirez, said he heard what sounded like firecrackers before people began yelling “shooter” and running frantically.

“Suddenly everything was empty,” he said. “People were freaked out.”

After the initial panic, new visitors continued to arrive, unaware of what had happened, and were instructed to leave by police, he said.

Estan Wakonabo said he and his girlfriend were waiting in line for a photo booth when he was shoved from behind and turned to see a rush of people fleeing.

“People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground, baby strollers were falling,” Wakonabo said.

“Once I heard a ‘pop, pop, pop,’ that’s when I knew it was a shooter,” he added, reporting that he later saw multiple victims on the ground.

The victims

The people who were killed and injured have yet to be named. Two of the victims died at the scene while a third succumbed to their injuries at Harborview Medical Center a short time after.

Among the injured was a 56-year-old woman said to be in a serious condition.

Three others were taken to hospital for treatment and are in a stable condition, according to Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Grace Nunez, with a two-year-old boy among their number.

A fifth person was treated at the scene for a minor injury.

Harborview said it had gone into “partial lockdown” following guidance from the Seattle Police Department.

The suspects

Neither the person taken into custody – who surrendered at the scene – nor the second person police are seeking have yet been named.

Davis said officers do not yet have a description of the suspect who fled, saying: “We’re still trying to figure this out.”

However, there is believed to be no further threat to the public and police have now secured the area.

The aftermath

Speaking at the press conference, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson called the shooting an “act of horrific violence.”

“Impacted families are living through the worst moment of their lives, and an entire community is trying to understand how a gathering built around culture, connection, and joy ended in gunfire,” she said.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson wrote on X: “My prayers are with the families of the victims, and the responders as they work to keep people safe.”

Washington Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal said in a statement that she was “absolutely horrified” by the violence, calling it “senseless” and likewise expressing her condolences to the families of the victims.

The gun control advocacy group March for Our Lives said: “Our hearts are with everyone who was there tonight, and with a city that didn’t ask for this. We will not accept this as normal.”