Seattle police say they’ve arrested three teenagers in connection with last week's multiple shooting at the homeless camp known as "The Jungle."
Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole said the suspects, ages 13, 16 and 17, were arrested Monday afternoon under an Interstate 90 off-ramp in the Sodo neighborhood, just blocks from the scene of the shooting.
"I think it's always shocking when young people are involved,” O’Toole said. “When I heard the ages of all three, I was shocked by it. And, again, it's a tragedy on so many levels. But the bottom line is this was a horrific crime and we have to bring people to justice."
Police have said they believe the shooting stemmed from a low-level drug-dealing dispute and that the suspects and victims knew each other or knew of each other. The shooting last Tuesday left two people dead and three wounded.
Photos: This Is Seattle's Notorius 'Jungle'
O’Toole said detectives have recovered one handgun. Police believe multiple guns were used in the shooting last Tuesday in The Jungle under Interstate 5. Two people were shot to death and three were wounded.
Authorities are not releasing the teens’ identities and declined to say what led investigators to them.
O'Toole reiterated that the police are trying to protect everyone, including those who live on the street.
"Homelessness is not a crime,” she said. “We have to apply a thoughtful approach, a multidisciplinary approach, to how we deal with people who are homeless. But if people are criminals and are terrorizing people out in our community, we'll enforce and hold them accountable."
The two people who were killed have been identified as 45-year-old Jeannine L. Zapata and 33-year-old James Q. Tran.
The three injured people remain at Harborview Medical Center.
Hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg says a man and a woman are in satisfactory condition. The other woman who was wounded did not want her condition made public.
