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Subscribe to RSSA gunman identified as Ian Stawicki, 40, opened fire in a Seattle, Wash., café and a downtown parking lot, killing five, critically wounding one, and eventually taking his own life. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.
Updated 6:20 a.m. ET: SEATTLE – A man killed four people in a Seattle cafe and a fifth person in a nearby carjacking before shooting himself dead, police said late Wednesday.
The five victims brought the number of homicides in Seattle so far this year to 21, matching the total for all of last year, and left city leaders wondering what could be done to stop the bloodshed.
The suspect, Ian Lee Stawicki, was described by his family as mentally ill, news reports said.
For most of Wednesday, police didn’t know whether the shootings at a north Seattle café and a carjacking murder five miles away were related.
They only knew that a tall, white man with a trim, dark beard had entered a small coffee shop around 11 a.m. and shot five people, killing four. And they knew that half an hour later, someone had fatally shot a woman in the head and driven off with her black Mercedes SUV.
Immediately police issued a warning to residents of Seattle’s University District: Don’t open your door to strangers. Dozens of detectives combed the city, armed with images of a suspect standing alone in the Café Racer, one hand on his hip, another on an object that appeared to be a gun. In the image, stools were overturned, coffee cups spilled.
Police found the Mercedes abandoned in West Seattle, a neighborhood across town. A gun was in the driver seat.
Read more on the KING5 website
Around 4 p.m., a plainclothes officer spotted Stawicki - a 40-year-old from Ellensburg, a college town in central Washington State who used to live in the University District, according to state voter records. He fit the suspect’s description. The officer called for backup.
When Stawicki saw a uniformed officer approach, he knelt down in the middle of the road and shot himself, Assistant Police Chief Jim Pugel said. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center. Late Wednesday night, hospital spokesman Steve Butler confirmed to NBC News that the suspect died.
Within the hour, police announced that the shootings were related and that Stawicki was suspected of the Cafe Racer killings and of shooting a woman several times for her SUV.
Two men were killed and three more people were seriously wounded in a shooting at a Seattle cafe by a gunman who fled the scene on foot. KING's Linda Brill reports.
His brother, Andrew Stawicki, 29, told the Seattle Times that his brother was mentally ill.
"It's no surprise to me this happened. We could see this coming. Nothing good is going to come with that much anger inside of you," Andrew Stawicki told the Times.
The bodies of two men remained at Café Racer throughout the day. The woman died at the hospital, NBC station KING5-TV reported. A fifth victim also died at the hospital, Harborview spokeswoman Susan Gregg told the Associated Press Wednesday night.
Café Racer, a coffee shop and restaurant known for its impromptu jazz sessions and diehard regulars, sits at the north end of the University District near the sprawling University of Washington campus. It is four blocks from Roosevelt High School, which was on lockdown as police searched for the suspect.
At the Trading Musician store next door, store manager John Herman said they didn’t hear any sounds until police converged on the scene.
“Our first customer of the day had just come from Café Racer, and he thought he walked out right as the person walked in,” Herman told msnbc.com. “He thought he saw the (shooter) but other witnesses say that he may have actually seen a victim.”
Trading Musician employees hang out at Café Racer, Herman said, and the store holds its holiday parties there. Herman said other Café Racer employees had arrived and were standing across the street. The owner had also arrived and had been escorted by police to the crime scene, he said.
The Emerald City, generally considered a safe place to live, had 19 murders already this year. Last year there were 20. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.
“They seem very upset, but I don’t know if it’s about the fact that it happened, or because they lost somebody,” he said. He said the Trading Musician was effectively closed, but that employees hadn’t left.
Ted S. Warren / AP
A Seattle police officer stands outside a cafe where gunman opened fire on Wednesday.
“We’re just waiting to find out what has happened to our extended family,” Herman said.
Ibrahim Frishak, who was power-washing a sidewalk across the street from where the carjacking occurred, said he heard gunshots and saw a car peeling away, The Stranger, an alternative weekly newspaper, reported.
"I just got back a week ago from Libya on vacation to visit relatives," Frishak told the paper. Everyone over there carries guns, he said, adding, "Now I think Libya is safer than Seattle."
At an afternoon news briefing, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn said he told police that their "highest priority is to find the shooters and bring them to justice." He also asked political leaders to look into gun laws and the culture of violence to see what can be done to keep weapons out of the hand of offenders.
Even before the shootings on Wednesday, Seattle was dealing with an outbreak of violence that has stumped police officials, who have blamed it on gangs and weapons. Wednesday’s shootings brought the number of homicides in Seattle to 19, nearly as many as 2011.
Last Thursday, Justin Ferrari, a 43-year-old software engineer, was gunned down while running errands with his children in the Central Area. No arrests have been made in that investigation. And over the holiday weekend, four-drive by shootings, one that left a bystander wounded, were attributed to gang activity.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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They were arguing over Hope and Change.
Change won?
"The suspect is described as a 6-foot-1 white man, from 30 to 40 years old, with curly light brown hair. He was wearing a white and brown plaid shirt and dark pants. The Seattle Times reported that he had a goatee or beard."
Not to make light but...Sounds like the discription of every other schmoe in Seattle.
Excuse me, but isn't that description considered profiling?
Just another example of Socialism Failed.
And just last week in Seattle an innocent man was killed in front of his family by stray bullets from a driveby shooting, and there have been tons of shooting lately all over the city - what is going on?
The only interesting part of the article is when they actually say it's a "white" man. They are NOT ALLOWED to say "it's a BLACK man. Otherwise, just another lovely day in the U.S.
Suspects in the recent Seattle murders (there have been several in the last couple of weeks) have been both Black and White - race is not the issue here
As well, the citizens of Rome must have experienced this kind of madness while their govenment was collapsing into corruption as ours has been over the last 50(+) years--and especially in this 21st c.
Bring back Caligula?
That would work, I could use an orgy or two.
Orgy Fridays
No wonder the terrorists from across the world have stopped attacking us. They read the newspapers and the Internet and think we're doing a fine job of killing ourselves off.
More guns please. How sad......
Unfortunately we need more of this to happen for anti-gun laws to come back into effect. Once people start seeing dead bodies they will begin to re-think the pro gun phenomena that has taken over the country.
chitown1211..
a pro gun phenomena hasn't taken over the country. Our rights to own firearms are spelled out in that document called the Bill of Rights.... the first ten amendments to the Constitution.
Never let a good crisis go to waste as the Obama people say. Unfortunately for you libs, Obama doesn't have the guts to mention the words "gun control". I haven't heard it once in four years, have you? I wish he would because it is election time.
chitown,
The anti-gun laws ARE STILL IN EFFECT, dummy!! A lot of good it's doing, huh, jackass?
Xdm9mm, you should do some more research on the 2nd amendment. It was put in place because the US did not have a full time military and needed to ensure that they could raise one from civilians if need be. They also needed to be able to mount a posse when they needed to track down criminals as there was often no full time police department available.
What's more, they wrote that many, many decades before various forms of repeaters were invented and the weapons themselves were substantially more intimate.
At this stage if we got rid of all the firearms you'd have a significant drop in untimely deaths.
Or to put it another way, when they were framing that amendment this crime couldn't have happened as the gunman would have only had one shot per pistol and would have been tackled before being able to reach for a third one or reload.
Frank,
While that is true, the second amendment, though imperfect and taken to extremes by many, serves as a means of protection from both illegal action and potential nefarious action by the government against the citizens of this country. Throughout modern history, one of the first actions taken by a government seeking to subdue it's people in a totalitarian state is disarmament; the illegalization of firearms possession by the public.
I wonder if there is more to be argued, when it comes to shooting deaths, and murders in general, for a society that not only functions based on a premise of fear, but seems often to literally crave it. Americans are a fearful and paranoid society. Fear of the government; fear of robbery; fear of not being able to secure one's property; fear of the police, etc. Love your neighbors? Why's their curtains closed?...
Canadians, per capita, have WAY more guns than Americans, yet only a fraction of the shooting deaths.
Also, prohibitons create black markets; potentially far more dangerous than even less regulatory gun laws than we have now.
My condolences to the victims of this violence. May the injured have full and speedy recoveries.
I bet this kind of stuff doesn't happen at Starbucks. The chain recently defended a customer's right to carry a gun in their stores. Boy, did that ever give the snooty latte liberals a caffeine withdraw.
I like the left wing plants on this sight immediatly posting some racial. ethnic, or "minority" slur to make it seem like the world is full of bigots. Most people just call a spade a spade and be called racist, these clowns try to pass themselves off as one. I call bullcrap.
These clowns need to be caught quick cause now they're desperate. Let the citizens of Washington arm themselves so they have a chance. Too much violence, drugs, illegal guns to not allow citizens to protect themselves.
Seems drugs are a problem... what's your favorite?
Mr-392541 Who is stopping the citizens of Wa state to not arm themselves. I live in Wa state and know many people who have legal weapons and concealed weapon permits. Every city has crime, so insinuate otherwise is only spreading false accusations.
Really, care to copy and paste some because all the racial slurs and bigotry I have read in 3 pages of posts are from right wing gun-clutchers.
Please feel free to prove me wrong with actual posts that support your ASSumptions.
Memory you're right. I was thinking back on Seattle overruling state law, I see that's been overturned. I retract the statement.
William, read them yourself, you can tell right away, they post the same thing on every article. LEFT WING hacks.
MR, do NOT use that phrase, "call a spade a spade"! The wrath of God will be upon you. Other words to avoid, denigrate and renege.
@Appalled! What a knee-jerk idiot you are. Gun-lovers aren't the people committing the crimes. There are over 70 million gun owners in the USA who, day after day, week after week, year after year, never, ever commit crimes with them. It's the unstable idiots who cause the problems, and they use guns, knifes, poison, automobiles, etc. as weapons. When was the last time someone got stabbed and the press led off with the headline "Knife violence claims 3 lives!" Never. A weapon is an inanimate object and perfectly harmless until picked up and misued by someone. Does Mothers Against Drunk Drivers work to ban automobiles? No. They go after the people driving them. Wake up and get a clue where the problem resides.
they cant be white, white people dont do this, i think they were really black and the cops have bad witnesses,has to be, no other explanation
It is when Biff gets told his Starbucks card is expired.
White people usually hit what they're aiming at. It's the black gangbanger who continually shoots little kids "by accident." It's how you can tell the description is accurate...
Big Deal, we have 3 shootings DAILY here in Big EASY N.O.LA, 5 yesterday which 1 was a 5 year old and innocent bystander 23! Never hear on national news and never any Reverends making any emotional speeches! Gee, I wonder why?
Most large metropolitan area cities vote Democrapic and have for years. Seattle is a prime example. Went 89% for Obama and his cronies in the Democrapic Party in '08!
These shootings in Chitown and Seattle are the work of Obama supporters who have found out the hard way over the last 3 and a half years, that he LIED about Hope and Change!
Gonna get a LOT worse if this cull gets re elected!
"Cull' is a verb you illiterate imbecile.
William,
Alfred didn't use the word incorrectly, he simply forgot to insert one word in front of it. The last sentence should have read: "Gonna get a LOT worse if this boach cull gets re elected."
A simple mistake. Lets see if you can get past this without any name calling now.
Wow, Alfred, do you have any evidence at all to back that claim with? Or are you just spewing hatred?
Yes, he's just spewing hatred. However,as one who lives in a very rural area of the state, I can empathize with his (albeit misdirected) frustration at the lack of representation that we rural folks often feel that we receive... I am personally more concerned with local an d State governments, but I do find the federalist trend in recent years to be somewhat disturbing and oppressive...
I'd like to say I could vote for Jay Inslee, Maria Cantwell, or even Patty Murray, but after their recent voting records (and Jay's being mostly a talking cabbage head empty suit), I'd be hard pressed to do so with a clear conscience.
I disagree with the policies, in large part, of the current administration, but hatred and ad hominem atacks (much less name permutations) are really unnecessary as there are plenty of reasonable arguments to be made.
Just my two cents.
Crazy americans and they still do not understand that guns are not a sign of freedom but they are in fact a sign a fearful and unsecure society.
Fools !
Can you pass that message around the world so we don't have so many who want to come here?
poodle,
Tell me...What are the gang bangers in Chicago that killed 10 people last weekend so affraid of?
Where are you from?
Believe me, many no longer want to go to the usa, for what ?? What do you have to offer to them ??
South americans are now moving to europe as well as many americans.. humm... I wonder why ?
France is my guess. I had a French teacher once who just couldn't stand the US, but she chose to live here. I wonder why?
Poodle, why are you afraid to tell us where you live?
poodle,
Maybe because of all those "safety nets" you love so much! Sad..............
Bernie,
I have an old fishing net. It used to hold fish really well when it was new. Now, there are holes in it and the fish are falling through. I got to stop stocking my pond with Greek fish.
id rather have a gun and not need it than need it and not have it. yea, your free, and no one is watching your every move. riiiiiight. isnt ignorance bliss?
Poodle,
Many Americans do not own or use weapons for protection. There are vast numbers of us who are avid hunters and sportsmen. I like to simply go out and shoot my guns for sport, for fun. You cannot assume all gun owners are fearful of something and own a gun as a result of that fear.
o lord if only zimmerman was there to stop them. probably would have thought the gun was a bag of skittles -_-
Guns make us safer, the NRA tells me so everyday.
XDm9mm at #60 is the only one who has made perfect sense. My respect to that individual, and I mirror the sentiment.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Gee lets see, More crime less jobs....More Crime Less children raised by families .....More Crime less education.....More Crime less reform in our prisons....More Crime more corrupt Government. Does anyone besides me see what is happening to the country? Does anyone give a crap anymore?????
No safety nets but you have guns.. Ha ha ha.. what a sick society !!
Non sense people, dumb people, aren't you righties ?
Poodle,
"NO safety nets"?????? What, are you drunk?
We have so many safety nets that some families (generation after generation) are stuck in the holes of it. They're "stuck" because they think some schm(u)ck in Washington will take care of them!
Let's see your next dumb post..........
OH really you have safety nets ?? I would like to know which ones and why do you have so much poverty and people living on your streets ????
Your safety nets are a joke next to the ones we have in europe, canada and australia ! YOU'VE GOT NOTHING and this is why you have so much crime and poverty !
She replied to you below. It doesn't make much more sense than this one, but FYI.
And yet we snap and the UK does Poodle.... wonder why?
poodle,
Oh, now I get it. Safety nets prevent poverty.
I'm laughing.....I'm laughing some more..............
poodlefan...
If you really want to know why there's such poverty in America, LOOK AROUND YOU in Europe. It is America that bore the burden of rebuilding Europe after Hitler decided he wanted to rule it. Oh, and look at the cemeteries filled with Americas youth that DIED helping to free FRANCE from the grip of the Nazis occupying it.
You might not like America, which is your right, but remember who it was that died helping you keep the freedom to dislike us. But, please, don't look for the help again. America did it twice already and personally I believe Europe isn't worth a third time.
I live in Puyallup,WA south of Seattle, about a month ago my neighbor's window was hit by a stray bullet,Memorial day weekend a couple people killed in a house about a halfmile from my home.I wonder what is going to happen next. Several home invasion type robberies around here.I am disabled age 72 and scared,I am considering getting a larger caliber handgun, and yes I know how to use one.I know that the police around here are doing all they can but we often have only three or four deputies to cover the whole area, and they might be twenty mile away when a 911 call comes in.Also is it just me or does it seem to others that violent crime rates go up when thing get as bad as they are now?
I don't know what caliber you have now but please know that any caliber of handgun used properly is effective. You can also make sure you have the best ammo for protecting yourself. Hollow points, hydra-shock these types of bullets. You might not need to spend the money on a new weapon. Stay safe.
Maybe it's all the caffeine from Starbucks....
No Place To Run,
Seattle today, Chicago the other day, perhaps LA, St Louis or New York tomorrow. Every major urban area in the country has been affected by the same things; low income and unemployment, blight and ghettos, poor schools, substandard housing, illegitimate children, welfare families, gangs, drugs, prostitution, failed prison systems, easy access to weapons... and the list goes on. It matters not where anyone lives today ... the problems in our society as a whole are systemic in nature, with little improvement in sight. We have met the enemy ... and he is us.
Peace to all
No he isn't one of us! Not where I live. HE is Barrack Hussein Obama and he is going to get defeated in the fall elections and no longer be the food stamp, welfare, hope and change POTUS! It might not matter to you where anyone lives today, but it sures matters to me and what you describe going on "everywhere" does NOT go on here! And NO I am not telling you "where" that is. Don't need you effed up wackos infiltrating the peace and quiet!!
Send him back to Chicago this fall to organize some dysfunctional neighborhoods.
Alfred...Are you in control of your senses? I didn't know the Emerald City was a vacuum with a glass bubble over it. What planet by the way do you live on anyway? Our crowded urban society has been sliding into this hellhole existence EVERYWHERE for at least 50 years, if not more. None, I repeat, none of this has happened overnight and it did NOT just happen on Obama's watch or any other single President's watch, Republican or Democrat. It's not politics, it's violent people lashing out at society because of the inequities that have developed in this country since the end of WWII. That is not an excuse for their behaviour, it's a symptom of everything that has gone wrong in our inner cities. School dropout rates are very high, it leads to unemployable people with no skills, which leads to gangs, drugs, urban blight, weapons, crimes and more violence... its a vicious circle. I grew up near NYC and also Baltimore, and all of this was around me when I was a kid fifty years ago... the society we have created is coming back to haunt us big time and unless you dig into some remote mountain in the middle of Nevada you had better realize there is no place to hide....period! Read some books on social structure and urban life.
Peace
Thanks for the lecture Professor Steve! I was born in Brooklyn while the Second World War raged on! I've lived in Israel and been all over this planet many times. There is nothing you can tell me about anything. So, please shut the flock up!!!
Thank you very much!
Alfred... No lecture intended, just an honest perspective of the world as it has been for quite a while, and I have been around quite a bit myself. You are certainly entitled to a few of your distorted opinions, but frankly sir you are Mad, much as your namesake was in that rather iconic comic book. That's it, your simply very comical... no, you are comically very simple. So please go find a nice quiet place and go f**k yourself!
Thank you.
roadwarrior idiot think americans are the only ones living in a free country, hahaha ! We in europe have way more freedom than you have and we do not have a patriot act that spy on our citizens !
Get out of you stinky hole, you dummy ! and please, get into a program so you get unbrainwashed !
isn't it debrainwashed?
Excuse my french ! Yes, debrainwashed
poodle,
You can thank your freedom because of us.
I was kidding poodle... both were bad English. Where are you from?
How are the Middle Eastern and Commonwealth immigrants where you live poodle? Didn't they burn down entire blocks of London last fall? Made it look like the Luftwaffe was making nightly visits again? Is that the peaceful, civilized country you live in?
Poodle,
Don't you have a hijab to pull off the head of a muslim woman someplace?