Mass shooting again in the United States leaves 5 people injured in Seattle 

By Edward Era Barbacena 

At least five people were shot after a gunman fired 'dozens and dozens' of rounds during a community outreach event at a Safeway store in Seattle on Friday night

The incident occurred in the Rainer Beach section of the city. The victims are four males and one female, Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz said in a media briefing. 

Two are in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center and two are stable, one was treated at the scene and swiftly released.  

Diaz said the shooting began in the parking lot of the store close to a King Donut. The chief did not say if it was a targeted attack. 

Photos from the scene show at least 50 evidence tags on the ground, reports KIRO7. 

There are no reports of a suspect being in custody. 

A video posted from the scene showed police officers attending to a victim who was shot inside of the store. 

The gunfire broke out during a an event being held by the Seattle Community Safety Initiative which seeks to create safe spaces for citizens in the crime ridden city. 

'They give out supplies, they give out free food, they play music. It keeps a festive and peaceful and safe environment and somebody just opened fire on the event,' a local activist told KING5. 

At the scene, Seattle's Democratic Mayor Bruce Harrell told the media that there were 'too many guns in the wrong places and in the wrong hands.'

Earlier this year, out-of-control crime in the Rainier Beach-area forced the United States Postal Service (USPS) to pause deliveries to an entire zip code for a week. 

Around 900 residents in the 98118 zip code did not receive their mail as delivery services were halted due to mail theft and 'equipment security concerns'.

They were told to pick up their mail from the local post office and stood in long queues of up to an hour while delivery services were paused for a week before the ban was lifted. 

It comes as Seattle continues to experience rampant crime, drug issues and battles huge rates of homelessness.

Seattle's violent crime rate is at a 15-year high, based on its annual crime statistics from 2022, with 5,642 cases reported- including 52 murders, 321 rapes, 1,759 robberies and 3,510 aggravated assaults.

And property crime is the highest it has been since 2008 with 44,408 crimes recorded including 8,678 for burglary and 28,627 for larceny-theft.

This year, there have been 16 murders, 103 rape offences, 429 robberies and 925 aggravated assaults.

While 2,564 cases of burglary and 7,110 larceny-theft cases have been recorded so far in 2023.

Mayor Harrell who was sworn in January 2022, is also battling a drug problem and homeless crisis with a growing number of homeless encampments.