Since 2013, detectives have been following the trail of a 9mm Luger pistol used in 10 shootings in the Seattle area.
After a shooting at a Central District park last month, detectives now have pictures of a man seen wielding the weapon, and are hoping someone can help identify him.
A witness captured two men on camera as they opened fire at Judkins Park on on June 25th. One of the men fired several shots from the Luger pistol before both suspects fled.
With the help of the Puget Sound Regional Crime Gun Taskforce–a partnership between Seattle police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Washington State Patrol crime lab–detectives were able to tie the 9mm Luger to nine other incidents of gunfire in the Seattle area since 2013:
October 28, 2013 – 9:55 PM: Police found five shell casings connected with the gun in the street at 43rd Avenue S. and S. Othello Street, but no victims or damage.
December 22nd, 2013 – 10:04 PM: Officers found someone had fired nine rounds from the gun at 47th Ave S. and S. Juneau St. Again, no damage or victims.
June 12, 2015 – 9:59 PM: the gun was used to fire at least one shot at a white vehicle as it sped away from a gas station parking lot at 23rd Ave and E. Union St. No injuries or damage were reported to police.
June 24, 2014 – 6:13 PM: Witnesses reported someone opened fire from the passenger seat of a black Dodge sedan as it sped through the 9000 block of Rainier Ave S. Police found evidence two guns were fired near the scene, and bullets fired during the incident struck a 60-year-old man in the leg and shattered the windshield of a passing vehicle.
June 25, 2015 – 9:10 PM: The gun was used in a shooting at Powell-Barnett Park. Officers were unable to find anyone with injuries at the scene, but a 31-year-old man later arrived at a Central District hospital with a gunshot wound. A motorist also contacted police and reported their car had been struck by gunfire as they drove past the park.
June 25, 2015 – 9:50 PM: Two men (pictured above) opened fire at Judkins Park. No one was injured in the shooting, but a motorist passing by the park ran a red light and struck two cars after hearing the gunfire.
June 26, 2015 – 12:40 AM: The gun was one of two fired at a gas station in the 9200 block of Rainier Ave S. Bullets fired from the Luger, and at least one other gun, struck nearby businesses and a nearby apartment building, where officers later recovered a bullet found on top of a resident’s bed. No one was injured in the incident.
July 4, 2015 – 11:27 PM: Officers met a woman on the I-90 bridge, after she called 911 and reported her car had been struck by gunfire near 25th Ave S. and S. Massachusetts St. The woman and three children in the vehicle were not injured in the incident.
July 10, 2015 – 12:55 AM: An 18-year-old man was shot in the torso and leg near 46th Ave S. and S. Henderson St. Officers found the man, and medics transported him to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition.
Police believe the Luger handgun was used in all nine of these shootings, as well as an exchange of gunfire between two groups in the Renton area in July 2014, which left four people injured.
Detectives are looking for leads to help them track down the Luger and suspects in these incidents. Please call the Seattle Police Department’s violent crime tip line at (206) 233-5000 with any information about these cases.