Seattle shooting leaves man injured inside First Hill apartment elevator

SEATTLE — Seattle police said they’re searching for a suspect(s) after a shooting left a man injured inside an apartment’s elevator in the city’s First Hill neighborhood as a rooftop party, with more than 200 people, was taking place.

Police said they first received a call about the shooting on Spring Street shortly before Sunday at 6 a.m.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found a 22-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds inside an elevator, officials said.

The victim was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.

It’s not clear if the victim was involved with the party of if they are a tenant in the building.

Tenants told KIRO 7 News the shooting happened inside the Ovation Apartments.

Police said a party on the rooftop with 200 people was taking place when people heard multiple gunshots.

“That party was going on. The gunshots happened around three in the morning,” Xavier Backus, a tenant, who lives two floors below the rooftop party, said. “People are in disarray right now.”

“People said there were 10 plus shots, so I don’t think it was an accident. I do think it was deliberate,” he added.

“We didn’t expect a party to go on until three in the morning,” said Akshay Aayeer, a tenant. “It’s really bothering us. It’s disturbing. As I said, we don’t know when it’s going to happen or where it’s going to happen. So it’s really concerning, even the fact, when I step outside sometimes, I take my dog, I don’t take him for a walk at night because it’s concerning so we usually use the pet relief area.”

KIRO 7 News also spoke with another tenant, who asked us to not identify him. He said he saw the aftermath of the shooting Sunday morning.

“It’s incredibly concerning,” he said. “It looked like there was blood in the elevator.”

The tenant said he saw blood splattered on the wall and on the floor of the elevator.

He added, “It was certainly a considerable amount.”

KIRO 7 News reached out to the Seattle Police Department to get more details. We’re still waiting to hear back.

Tenants said people who live inside the apartment are required to make a reservation if they would like to hold an event on the rooftop, and the property’s management must approve it.

They said they do not know who organized the party.

We also reached out to Ovation Apartments. A person on the phone said they are not releasing any comments during the investigation.

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