Kent Police are looking for at least two shooters in connection with a gang-related shooting that broke out at a lowrider car show Saturday afternoon at a Pacific Highway strip mall and injured 12 people.
“We’re fairly confident at least two guns were involved,” said Kent Police Lt. Pat Lowery in a phone interview Monday. “We are calling it a gang-related shooting.”
None of the shooting victims suffered life-threatening injuries.
“We’re very, very grateful for that,” Lowery said.
Nine people were transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. All arrived in satisfactory condition, said hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg.
Five people were admitted Saturday Harborview and four were treated and released. Two more have since been released. A 29-year-old woman and 26-year-old man remained hospitalized in satisfactory condition Monday, Gregg said.
The gangs are from the Kent, South Seattle and Burien areas, Lowery said. He said detectives did not want to release the names of the gangs at this time as more than a dozen detectives investigate the case by interviewing witnesses, reviewing video surveillance and following up on tips provided by the public.
Kent detectives have received assistance from several local law enforcement agencies while pursuing leads about the gang members around the Puget Sound area.
The motivation for the shooting at the La Plaza strip mall, 23311 Pacific Highway S., has yet to be determined.
“We’ve heard nothing set it off up to someone might have planned this,” Lowery said. “There is nothing to support anything now. When we talk to people who were closer to being involved we hope to have some clarity.”
Detectives remained confident they will identify the shooters.
“We have a lot o good information and a lot of help from the public,” Lowery said. “We’re confident as we pull together information that we will identify the people we are looking for.”
Police have identified several persons that they are trying to locate and interview regarding the disturbance. While not suspects in the incident, detectives believe that these people have information crucial to their investigation.
Police are also looking for several cars that were captured by surveillance cameras as they left the scene.
Lowery said investigators had yet to determine exactly how many shots were fired. He said it could take a couple more days to count all of the rounds, especially since investigators also are working on the shooting by a Federal Way Police officer at a Federal Way Walmart store.
Kent Police Chief Ken Thomas is setting up a meeting of other law enforcement leaders in the region to focus on the impact of recent gang-related activity in and around the South Puget Sound area. Thomas wants to identify significant strategies to respond to the problems posed by organized street gangs, according to a Kent Police media release.
A similar strategy used by Pierce County law enforcement agencies last year netted several dozen arrests for a variety of state and federal crimes.
“For something this important we are trying to convene as quickly as possible,” Lowery said. “The call has gone out to all of our partners in the county as well as state and federal agencies.”
Kent has not seen gang activity to the extent of shots being fired at a public gathering and so many people injured.
“This kind of popped up in a big way,” Lowery said. “We have not had issues like this. We’ve had sporadic violence but nothing to this degree. This is out of the norm with what these folks did to each other.”
Detectives hope the shooting doesn’t lead to more gang shootings.
“We’re looking into it as we move forward,” he said. “Our hope is it does not turn into anything more substantial.”
Police are trying to determine whether certain people were targeted by the shooters.
“It’s hard to tell with a large group of people moving around if they were trying to target someone and missed,” Lowery said. “We’re not sure yet. We’re trying to work through those pieces.”
The event was billed as the first La Raza Lowrider Show and Concert, according to a promotional poster.
Lowriders are typically cars and trucks from the 1950s that have a modified suspension making the them as low to the ground as possible, according to www.lowridersale.com. The cars often have a hydraulic suspension that allows the car to be raised and lowered by the driver. The Chevy Impala, Buick, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac are some of the more popular lowriders.
“The vast majority were up there legitimately for the show,” Lowery said. “There was no ill intent. It was not for a bunch of street gangs to face off.”
But gang members attended, and a shooting broke out. The shooters could be arrested for investigation of a variety of offenses, including reckless endangerment and assault with a firearm, Lowery said.
Kent detectives continue to seek any witnesses present at Saturday’s car show, or people who may have photographs or video of the car show. Persons with information should call the Kent Police Department Tip Line at 253-856-5808.
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