ISSAQUAH, Wash. - Gunmen opened fire at Lake Sammamish State Park Saturday evening, killing two men and wounding four others, a King County Sheriff's spokesman said.

A park ranger called 911 to report the shooting close to the beach area around 9 p.m., and during the call more shots were fired, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Sgt. John Urquhart with the King County Sheriff's Department says police arrived to a chaotic scene near the beach with people running for their lives and bullets whizzing.

"When the gunfire was over there were six people shot, two of them dead," Urquhart said.

Six people were arrested following the shooting.

Laura Thoren was at the park and said she didn't immediately realize there had been a shooting.

"We thought they were fireworks at first because there were so many in a row, like 15 or more," she said. "We didn't pay that much attention to it until the cops that were nearby in the parking lot zoomed off to find out what was going on."

State troopers were among the first on the scene and took two men into custody that they believe are the gunmen, a patrol spokesperson said. Four others were arrested later.

Officials say three of the four wounded were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, while the fourth wounded victim was taken to a Bellevue hospital.

One of the victims at Harborview was listed in serious condition on Sunday morning, and two were listed in satisfactory condition. Identities of the victims were not available. One victim was reported to be 29 years of age.

"Our victims, we don't know if they're innocent victims, people caught in a crossfire, suspects, or other shooters," Urquhart said. "It's quite possible there was more than one shooter."

There was a party at the beach when the gunfire erupted, but Urquhart says the motive for the shooting remains unknown at this point.

"Right now we're trying to sort it all out and find out who shot who and why," Urquhart said. "Several people detained for questioning. We're in the process of doing our investigation."

Detectives said one gun was recovered from the scene and several more guns were found in cars attempting to leave the park, a popular gathering place for boating and watersport activities.

The park was closed after the shooting, and no was let in or out of the park until they have been questioned by police.

The park will remain closed through Sunday as detectives take measurements and collect evidence at the scene.

Urquhart also said investigators believe several guns were stashed in the park after the shooting, and deputies need to find the weapons before the park can re-open.

The two people who were killed have not been identified.

why would homies dump their gats when the po po arrives?

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I suspect this will really get the east of Seattle libs on a ban wagon.

I got in fight there when I was in high school but we refrained from shooting each other.

Source, Seattle Times

...

Gunfire between the two groups sent their members and other park visitors scrambling for cover, some ducking into restrooms as up to 20 shots filled the air. When the gunfire stopped, two men had fatal wounds and four more were injured.

"There were lots of guns and lots of gunfire," Urquhart said Sunday. "It boggles the mind how dangerous this was."

Urquhart said it's unclear whether the motive for the shootings stemmed from a gang rivalry, though investigators are looking into that. He said the groups were made up of people of mainly Asian descent.

The two men killed — one from each group — have not been identified. One is a 33-year-old of Asian descent from Kent, and the other is 30, white and from Seattle, Urquhart said. At least one of them is believed to have fired gunshots, he said.

...

The park, at the south end of Lake Sammamish in Issaquah, is a popular place for boating and watersport activities. The park closes nightly at dusk, around 10 p.m. during summer.

Visitors can bring handguns into state parks if they have a concealed-weapons permit, said Mealing. The Sheriff's Office has not said whether the two men killed or the others who were armed had legal permits.

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That's because when you were in High School, the gun wasn't invented yet.

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http://www.electronichouse.com/images/slideshow/braveheart.jpg

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I thought he'd be taller!

Source The Herald

...Well has a long history of violence and mental illness, court records show.

Well was committed to Western State Hospital in 1980 after he was found not guilty by reason of insanity for an attack on another woman who was then his landlady. He was accused of breaking into her apartment and stabbing her. She survived.

Well later told a psychiatrist that he believed the woman was invading his brain with electrical signals. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

He was released to a group home in 1983, but returned to Western State Hospital five years later after he used a hammer to attack another resident at a
Tacoma group home where he was staying.

Well fought his confinement and the legal battle stretched over decades.

“It is unfortunate that Mr. Well continues to dwell on his legal status. If he’d only spend half the energy and time he does thinking about the legal system on his treatment, he could be more successful,” a doctor wrote in a progress report in the 1990s...

....However, in 2001 the state Court of Appeals ruled there were legal flaws at the hearing that resulted in Well being sent to the mental hospital. Although the state Supreme Court had previously ruled that Well belonged in a mental hospital, it declined to review the appellate court’s decision.

...State mental health experts weren’t recommending that Well be released from the hospital. In 2002, a case review board found it “particularly important to bear in mind the ‘significant lethality of his previous violence,’” according to court documents...

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First rule

Rules of Prey

1. Never kill anyone you know.
2. Never have a motive.
3. Never follow a discernible pattern.
4. Never carry a weapon after it has been used.
5. Beware of leaving physical evidence.

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a few miles from my house, pretty nice area, but a lot of people use the beach and boat launch there.
Always carry.

Source, Seattle Times

...Investigators have recovered four guns and 20 bullet casings.

The Sheriff's Office said members of both groups have gang affiliations, and investigators are trying to determine whether that played a role in the shootings.

However, relatives of the slain men said Monday that neither was a gang member.

Keovongphet's stepsister, Sakorn Keopanya, said she was frustrated that people were saying her stepbrother was in a gang. She said he was killed because he was trying to break up a fight that erupted between the two groups.

"That is all being spun up so that it will be a bigger story," Keopanya said. "What people need to remember is that he was a person and now he is gone."

According to court documents, Keovongphet was sentenced to four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree assault with a handgun in 1994. Cunningham had no felony convictions.

Cunningham's sister, Heidi, said she didn't know who her brother was with at the park and insisted he was not in a gang.

"He was just a good kid. He was caught up at the wrong place at the wrong time," said Cunningham's brother-in-law, Marcus. Cunningham's sister and brother-in-law asked that their last name not be published out of fear for their family's safety....

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+1

I've seen police patrols there during the day while I was having a picnic on the lawn. I thought that was strange, now that this happened it's probably got to do with drugs gang turf/war?

I guess I won't do a picnic there anymore. I always carry, but that doesn't help when there are multiple shooters without info on situation (like in a saloon brawl).

I suppose it's time to carry a truck gun again.

ETA: 2 houses, neighbors of mine about 8 houses away got robbed about a month ago. 2 months ago, I saw a dealer brazenly selling outside Eastlake HS at school closing time.

Sammamish ain't what it used to be ...

 

I'm guessing, since they were gang members, that they *didn't* have CCW permits, and were NOT allowed to have guns (in a park, or anywhere).

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1 incident and you won't go there anymore?  Why not?  It's a nice park and I would in a heartbeat.  This shit can and does happen anywhere.  As you mentioned, a house in your neighborhood got robbed, does that mean your moving too?



As for the dealing at EHS, that is nothing new. My wife and all her siblings went there (the youngest will be a senior this year).  They have the same drug problems as any other high school (shit, how many busts have been done at Redmond HS, and that's a "nice place" too.  The plateau is still a damn nice place, just overcrowded.



I think this is a reminder to everyone about their own situational awareness and to always carry, even "nice" places have their issues.