Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Gunman, 5 others dead in Seattle shootings

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Official: Suspect shot self in head
  • In all, the gunman shoots six people: Five died and one is critical, police say
  • The victim who is in critical condition is not expected to survive, police say
  • The gunman also died Wednesday evening

For more information on the shooting check CNN's local affiliates in Seattle: KOMO, KCPQ, and KIRO.

(CNN) -- The suspect in a string of fatal shootings in Seattle died Wednesday evening, several hours after he shot himself in the head at the end of a five-hour manhunt, police said.

Police did not immediately release his name.

Detectives believe the man was behind both the shootings at a coffeehouse in the city's University District and the death of a woman near downtown about a half-hour later, police said.

In all, the gunman shot six people. Five died and one was in critical condition.

Two men were found dead at the coffeehouse. A woman and a third man there died in a hospital later. A fifth victim was listed in critical condition Wednesday evening and he is not expected to survive, police said.

The second shooting left one woman dead in what police described as a possible carjacking about four miles away.

Detectives "feel very confident that unfortunately, these are all connected," Assistant Police Chief Jim Pugel said.

He said a plainclothes detective spotted the suspect in southwest Seattle, within two miles of where the sport-utility vehicle seen fleeing the second shooting had been ditched. The detective called in uniformed officers, and the man shot himself as they approached, Pugel said.

The suspect died Wednesday evening, police said.

Evan Hill, who lives near the coffeehouse, said he could hear the gunfire from his living room.

"I counted four or five shots and somebody shouting, and I ran out to my balcony and called 911," Hill told CNN affiliate KOMO.

Hill called the cafe a "very mellow" venue that hosts artwork and musical performances.

"It makes you kind of angry that it would happen in a place like that," he said.

Witnesses to the second shooting told police a woman and man were arguing in a parking lot when the man pulled out a pistol and shot the woman in the head, Pugel said.

Seattle, a city of about 600,000, recorded 20 homicides in 2011, according to Police Department statistics.

Wednesday's rampage brings 2012's year-to-date total to 19.