Six die in double shootout in US|1,2,3

Six die in double shootout in US|1,2,3

Gunfire rang out during a car show at a suburban Seattle parking lot, wounding 12 people as fearful crowd members and merchants took cover or fled the chaotic scene, while a gunman opened fire at a child's birthday celebration at a Texas roller skating rink, killing five people and wounding four others before killing himself.

Grand Prairie, Texas: Authorities said no young children or employees were killed during the shooting that began at about 7pm at Forum Roller World in Grand Prairie, about 20 miles west of Dallas, Texas. Some people working at nearby businesses said they watched as adults and children left the rink in horror.

"They just looked terrified," Cody Poston, a witness, told a local television station as he stood outside the rink, which was festooned with birthday decorations. "There's several people crying. The kids were just kind of oblivious."

Authorities did not immediately release the victims' names or ages or say how the gunman may have been related to those who died.

Police said the gunman began arguing with a woman in Forum Roller World, where the party was being held, although the rink was not open to the public because the family had rented it for several hours.

Grand Prairie police spokesman John Brimmer said investigators were trying to determine how many people were inside the building when the shots were fired. Police were called at about 7.10pm. Some reports said officers entered with guns drawn, encountering the dead and wounded. Wounded survivors were taken to hospitals.

Police chief Steve Dye told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that a domestic disturbance apparently erupted between a husband and wife, but the investigation was continuing.

"We are still working on identifying the victims, and we are still working on notifying the families," Dye said. "Certainly our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families."

Investigators continued working through the night and bodies were still inside the building.

Aaron Feldt told a local television station that he was standing across the street at a bowling alley when he heard shots.

"I saw family coming across the street," he said, adding he could see the "panic in their eyes".

Byron Raspberry of Grand Prairie said his children go to the rink frequently because it is near their home. "It doesn't make any sense," Raspberry said. "I don't feel safe at all."

Shooting erupts at Seattle area car show, 12 hurt

Seattle: Gunfire rang out during a car show at a suburban Seattle parking lot, wounding 12 people as fearful crowd members and merchants took cover or fled the chaotic scene.

The shooting came late Saturday afternoon during a low-rider car show at La Plaza shopping center on Pacific Highway in Kent.

None of the injuries was life threatening, officials said.

Kent police Sgt. Jarod Kasner said in a telephone interview early Sunday that investigators were still determining the cause of the violence, but a fight was reported and then shots.

"There had been an argument and a fight at the event," he said. "Shots were eventually fired."

One man told The Seattle Times that he saw a gunman firing from the front of the shopping center into the parking lot.

"First I heard like six shots, then they kept going," said Alejandro Lara.

Kasner said 12 people were wounded.

Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Susan Gregg said eight of them -- six men and two women -- were admitted to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

"They're all in satisfactory condition," she said. "All conscious and talking."

She said ages of the wounded ranged from 14 to 32. The victims, she said, were hit on a foot, leg and chest, among other places.

Kasner said he wasn't sure where the other four were treated.

There have been no arrests but "detectives are still tracking down leads and have over a dozen witnesses," he said.

As crowd members fled or took cover, people in businesses around the parking lot hid in their stores to escape the shooting.

Adriana Velazco, a manager at a Los Cabos Mexican Restaurant in the shopping center, said she saw two people on the ground after the shooting. She said that she didn't hear the gunshots but was told by an off-duty police officer dining at the restaurant to hide in the back of the restaurant along with patrons.

"We saw people running all over the place," Velazco said. "People were knocking on the door of restaurant but we weren't allowed to open the door."

The car show, listed as La Raza low-rider car show on a Latino events website, allowed participants to display vehicles modified to ride low to the ground.

Kent, located about 20 miles south of Seattle, is a mix of suburban developments and older industrial centers.

Source: AP