Seattle, Washington: Two Men Shot in Rainier Valley After a Fight That Began on a Metro Bus

Two men were shot late Wednesday night in Seattle's Rainier Valley after an altercation that began on a King County Metro bus, the Seattle Police Department said in its official blotter account of the shooting.

Officers responded at about 10:10 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28, to reports of a shooting at Rainier Avenue South and South Holden Street, in the Brighton area of South Seattle. They found two men with gunshot wounds at the intersection.

What police say happened

The department's investigation found that an altercation between the two victims and the suspect began on a Metro coach bus and continued as they exited the bus. Shortly afterward, the suspect shot both victims and left westbound on South Holden Street, police said.

FOX 13 Seattle reported that officers blocked off the scene while they processed it and asked the public to avoid the area. Police said they were still working to determine the exact sequence of the shooting on Wednesday night, including where each part of the confrontation took place.

The victims

A 26-year-old man was shot in the wrist and a 33-year-old man was shot in the leg, police said. Officers gave first aid at the scene until Seattle Fire Department medics arrived. Both men were transported to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police have not released the names of the two men, and no condition update beyond the department's first account had been published by Thursday morning.

The search and the investigation

Officers searched the area with the help of the department's K9 Unit but were unable to locate the suspect, police said. No arrest had been announced in the department's account, and police released no description of the suspect.

Detectives with the Gun Violence Reduction Unit are investigating and are working to determine what led up to the shooting, the department said. The incident is recorded as incident number 26-322026 in the South Precinct.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Seattle Police Department's Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000, police said.

What is not yet known

Police have not said what started the altercation on the bus, and the department's first account gives no description of the suspect and no indication that a weapon was recovered. FOX 13 Seattle reported on Wednesday night that police were still working to determine whether the shooting itself happened on board the bus or after the men got off. The department said detectives are working to determine what led up to the shooting, and its blotter account is the record it had published by Thursday morning.