A suspect has been taken into custody in connection with a double homicide that occurred outside a Seattle hookah bar. Fox13 Seattle reports that the man is suspected of fatally shooting two people – a patron and a security guard – near the establishment and is currently being held on $5 million bail. The event unfolded in the early hours outside Capri Hookah Lounge on Rainier Avenue.
Seattle police acted swiftly to interview witnesses and review surveillance footage, which showed a tall, heavyset man approaching the first victim, shooting him in the head, and then being pursued by a security guard. As reported by Fox13 Seattle, the alleged perpetrator hit his head on a low-hanging beam, which temporarily knocked him to the ground, before he managed to get up and flee in a black sedan.
The KOMO News identified the victims as Ozzie Whitfield and Julius Rodriguez, the latter being the armed security guard who was killed trying to apprehend the shooter. Rodriguez was transported to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition but later succumbed to his injuries.
MyNorthwest shared details of the arrest: "A 25-year-old man was taken into custody Sunday afternoon. He’s been booked into jail for two counts of investigation of Murder," Detective Eric Munoz of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) told the station. It came to be known that the suspect was caught after seeking treatment at Valley Medical Center for a gunshot wound. Police had arrived at the scene initially to find the security guard with multiple gunshot wounds and discovered a second man with a gunshot wound to the head, who was pronounced dead on the scene. "Two of our community members have lost their lives," Munoz added. "That’s a very sad and tragic circumstance that occurred over this weekend."
