The shooting at Seattle's "The Jungle" that killed 2 people and left three injured was apparently caused by a drug deal dispute, said Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole Wednesday. The authorities haven't made arrests yet regarding the shooting at a homeless camp in the city Tuesday.
According to ABC News, O'Toole said, "The investigators feel strongly that's probably the case, but again we always have to keep open minds in this type of investigation." Police are interviewing eyewitness and believe that two people could be suspects to the shooting. The police think that the shooters were acquainted with the victims. The shooters might not be homeless.
King 5 reported that the King County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victims as Jeannine L. Brooks, 45, and James Q. Tran, 33. The two homeless people both died of multiple gunshot wounds. The other three who got wounded are now recovering in the hospital.
Ironically, the shooting happened as Seattle's mayor Ed Murray was delivering his speech on homelessness Tuesday night. The New York Times wrote that Mayor Murray was at Mary's Place Family Center to talk about the city's "extraordinary crisis" of homelessness. He stressed that there are 3,000 of the 32,000 children in the state had no permanent housing.
"I do not believe it is humane to allow someone to camp on a freeway on-ramp where they easily could be struck and killed by a car," said the mayor. "Or above a freeway where some have fallen to their deaths. Or in encampments where some have been murdered or raped. Instead, we go in and we offer services to get them out."
This is not the only fatal attack in Seattle's homeless camp. A homeless woman was also killed and her husband was attacked under the bridge.
Mayor Murray and King County Executive Director Dow Constantine pledged $7 million to solve the homeless crisis in November. Some 2,000 people are given shelter at night in the city, but Murray said they need federal intervention to address the issue.
