It was Tuesday evening [January 26, 2016], while Seattle mayor Ed Murray addressed the citizens of the city, stating that “people are dying on our streets” and vowing to work “on a complex problem in real time” that officers found victims of a shooting along a green belt known locally as “The Jungle”.
Located near the interchange of Interstate 5 and 90, the area is known for having numerous homeless encampments and for being stricken with crime.
Calling the event “very targeted,” Seattle police say the deceased are two men. The three other victims included two women.
“We believe this was a targeted incident,” police chief Kathleen O’toole said in a news conference. “We don’t think they were targeted because they’re homeless. They were targeted specifically because of who they were.”
While the police have identified and focused on two suspects, O’toole says they have “no reason to believe” there is anymore ongoing danger surrounding this case.
The victims ranged from ages 25 to 45 and suffered gunshot wounds to the chest, abdomen, and back.
Mayor Murray’s speech cited the ongoing problem of homelessness in the city as being “a crisis we have not seen since the Great Depression.”
The reasons for #homelessness are complex and ending homelessness will not be solved easily or quickly. There are no simple solutions.
— Ed Murray (@MayorEdMurray) January 27, 2016
Scheduled for cleanup today [January 27, 2016], Mayor Murray describe “The Jungle” as being “unmanageable and out of control” for over two decades.
