A man opened fire at Muckleshoot Casino near Auburn early Sunday after finding his estranged wife on a crowded dance floor with another man, police said.
The suspect shot them both with a handgun and continued firing, striking five more people, including his wife’s sister, before a security guard tackled him.
A 42-year-old Covington man was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of attempted murder.
Auburn police said all seven victims were hospitalized. Two others received minor injuries while trying to flee Club Galaxy inside the casino.
The incident was the second large shooting in South King County in less than 10 hours.
On Saturday afternoon, 13 attendees of a low-rider car show in Kent were shot and wounded.
The Covington man is believed to have come to the nightclub about 1:30 a.m. in search of his wife.
“The information is he either followed her there or arrived just after her,” Auburn police commander Mike Hirman said.
Police said he watched his estranged wife, her male companion and her two sisters for several minutes on the dance floor before approaching them with a gun.
He was caught while trying to escape the club. Security guards detained him until police arrived.
Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Susan Gregg said four victims from the casino shooting – a 29-year-old man and three women in their 30s – were brought to the Seattle facility.
Two were listed in serious condition and two were satisfactory Sunday, she said.
The other three victims suffered minor injuries and were expected to be released Sunday from Valley Medical Center in Renton.
A man who answered the phone at the casino Sunday declined to comment. The facility is owned and operated by the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe.
Police searched the alleged shooter’s Covington home early Sunday, according to neighbors.
The neighbors described him as a quiet man who had recently split from his wife and children and was living in the small, beige, single-story home on a cul-de-sac along with two or three other men.
Rebecca Wells, 30, who lives across the street, said the men mostly kept to themselves.
Wells said police had responded to the house more than once in the past year, and she believes the shooter’s wife had moved out.
“We thought he was depressed but that he would get back on his feet,” she said.
On Sunday, authorities marveled at the number of people shot over the weekend but said they were not connected.
“What’s unusual is that so many got shot and nobody got killed,” said Ralph Fascitelli, board president of Washington CeaseFire, a statewide group that seeks to reduce gun violence. “To have two things back to back, it’s a quirk, but I’m not surprised. It’s a wake-up call to officials to do more about gun violence in this state. It’s very lucky that nobody got killed.”
Kent detectives on Sunday continued sifting through evidence and interviewing dozens of witnesses to the chaotic shooting at La Plaza shopping center the day before.
It was about 4:15 p.m. Saturday when a fight in La Plaza shopping center erupted into a shooting. Gang investigators went to the scene, but Kent police Sgt. Jarod Kasner said a motive remained unclear.
“We’re not ruling out anything,” he said. “We’re still going through the evidence and following up with the information we get.”
Nine of the victims in the Kent shooting – six men and two women – were brought to Harborview Medical Center, Gregg said.
There were no life-threatening injuries, Gregg said. The victims range in age from 14 to 32. Some were hit on a foot, leg and chest, Gregg said.
Anyone who attended or took photographs during the car show is asked to call the Kent Police Department’s tip line at 253-856-5808.
Stacia Glenn: 253-597-8653
stacia.glenn@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/crime
The Associated Press and The Seattle Times contributed to this report.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.