SEATTLE — Seattle police are asking for the public’s help in bringing the person responsible for killing three people to justice.
A shooting outside OHM Nightclub in Pioneer Square ended with two young men and a woman dead and left another man critically injured.
Investigators are looking for video from that night, specifically from a black Tesla that was in the area at the time.
The shooting happened outside the club just after 1 a.m. early Saturday morning on the 100 block of South Washington Street.
Investigators believe there could be video from a black Tesla, possibly a Y model, that was in this area around 1:18 a.m. Saturday that could be useful to their investigation. Seattle police told KOMO News the driver or owner of the vehicle is not a suspect or person of interest, but is believed to be possibly a rideshare driver or someone picking up a person in the area at the time whose vehicle could have recorded crucial video.
Investigators are also looking for any video from that night, including cell phone video or pictures, that could help lead them to the shooter.
“I’m asking, I’m pleading, we’re begging for people to do the right thing so that we can wrap this up,” Zachary Bruce, whose cousin, August LaStrappe IV, was killed in the shooting, said. “If you got any footage, if you got any, whatever. Any information.”
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Family members said LaStrappe, 24, was attending a birthday party that night, and some of his friends are also among the dead and injured in the shooting. The 24-year-old now leaves behind a one-year-old son.
“He was just hilarious. He knew how to make serious situations light,” Bruce said. “He’s just a big, big presence in our family.”
The 24-year-old was one of four people shot. The family of 19-year-old Keilani Harris told KOMO News she was also killed while she was standing outside the club.
“From what I know, she was an innocent bystander. She got pulled in with a couple of guys. I don’t know if they were trying to hit on her and the next thing you know, she’s dead,” Harris’ mother, Christina Rivas told KOMO News. “Everybody that had a little glimpse of Keilani was impacted by her. She didn’t deserve to die this way. I’ll forever love her. She’ll always be my baby girl. My number one.”
One other young man was also killed, and police say the surviving victim is still fighting for his life in the hospital.
Several bullets also hit the Four Diamonds restaurant next door to the nightclub.
“We counted, it’s roughly around 10 bullets hit our building,” Emmie Nguyen of Four Diamonds Restaurant said. “It’s really scary, what if we were working in here, or someone was in here? It definitely would hit one of us.”
Investigators have been combing the area for surveillance footage, and they’re hoping they can get the video from the black Tesla that was in the area around the time of the shooting before the video is deleted.
“If you think that you may have digital evidence, you were celebrating a birthday or milestone, and you were at this event, you took some video or selfie, or you were out in the parking lot, and you may have taken photos, let us look through it, because you may have captured someone who was responsible for a horrific incident,” SPD Chief Shon Barnes said.
Seattle police said it’s still unclear how many shooters police are looking for or if the people shot were the intended targets.
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As the neighborhood group Alliance for Pioneer Square works to bring more people back to the historic district, the organization is urging the city to address the gun violence.
“Our hearts go out to the families of the victims, and we work so hard as a community to make sure it’s safe for people coming down and visiting the businesses,” Alliance for Pioneer Square Executive Director Lisa Howard said. “Gun violence is a regional issue and this weekend it appeared in Pioneer Square. That’s not always the case and it’s not always going to be the case. We really need Seattle to band together and solve for that problem because it can’t keep happening.”
Anyone with information or video or pictures from that night is urged to contact SPD’s tip line at (206) 233-5000 or submit an anonymous tip to CrimeStoppers.
