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US police are investigating a shooting that left one dead and another with life-threatening injuries in the so-called Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) run by activists in downtown Seattle.
Shots were fired at the main entrance to the enclave Saturday morning. The Seattle Police Department has confirmed that it is investigating the shooting in the zone, and has said one 19-year-old man was declared deceased while another male of unknown age is being “treated for life-threatening injuries.”
Exclusive: My sourcing tells me that Seattle Police have been hampered from carrying out a homicide investigation because they were not allowed to enter CHAZ. When police went to Harborview Medical Center, where a victim was transported, they were met by CHAZ's armed people.
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) June 20, 2020
Surveillance cameras from the enclave recorded what appear to be two gunshots.
CHAZ, also known as Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP), was established in Seattle on June 8 by a group of anarchists, socialists, and Black Lives Matter activists. The self-declared autonomous zone spans six blocks, has no police presence, and is largely barricaded off.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan earlier expressed support for CHAZ, saying the protesters were “gathering lawfully and exercising their First Amendment right of free speech.”
Shooting in CHAZ. There’s trouble in paradise. pic.twitter.com/TSsW0S05bE
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) June 20, 2020
Suspects in the shooting are still at large, according to police.
