This last Sunday evening, I went to the Bite of Seattle with a friend to spend a few hours trying new foods and browsing vendors. When we arrived around 5 p.m, the festival was packed and walking the grounds genuinely felt like navigating a sea of people. Everywhere, there were families, groups of friends, and long lines for food. There was live music playing from a stage while some booths had their own speakers going and it was fun to browse booths selling everything from cute handmade crochet items to oversized baby bottle drinks.
Around 6 p.m, I was standing on the north side of the Armory, waiting in line for takoyaki, while my friend was ordering food from a stand behind me. When gunshots first rang out, people around me and I were confused at first because they sounded like fireworks or firecrackers, but it didn’t make sense why they would be set off in the middle of such a crowded festival. When the popping continued into rapid shots, everyone got spooked and started frantically rushing to get away from where gunshots were being fired.
With crowds running past me, I realized I needed to move before I got trampled. My friend and I ducked behind some vendor stalls with other people taking cover. No one knew where the shots were coming from or whether they were moving toward or away from us. Looking back, it’s unsettling to think that if we had been standing at the wrong stall at the wrong time, that evening could have ended much worse for us.
The vendor owners were incredibly kind by making space for strangers to take cover behind their tents while people continued rushing past. There was no official announcement or broadcast of what was going on, and instead we heard from word-of-mouth that officials wanted people to clear the area. We left on foot and walked a few blocks before getting on a bus, assuming the stops closest to Seattle Center would be overwhelmed with people trying to leave.
According to the Seattle Police Department, the shooting left three people dead, including one of the suspects, and several others injured. Police arrived within a few minutes, and I remember hearing sirens continue and police cars speeding past us towards Seattle Center for a while after the initial panic. Officials later announced that one 15-year-old suspect had been arrested while another suspect remains at large.
When we walked around the festival beforehand, I remember commenting on the lack of any visible officers or security despite how many people were there. Regardless of whether a security presence would have changed anything, it raises important questions about how public events should balance being welcoming with keeping attendees safe.
The Bite of Seattle is supposed to be a place where families and friends can spend an evening together trying new food and enjoying the city. Instead, thousands of people left that night thinking about how quickly an ordinary summer night can transform into a tragedy. As someone who loves going to festivals and community events, it’s disappointing that this experience has changed the way I feel about attending them. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll look at large public festivals the same way again, and I don’t know if I will feel comfortable attending such a packed open-entry event in the future. It’s also frustrating that even with intended family friendly events such as Bite of Seattle, people have to be worried about the risk of potential acts of violence like these.
