Seattle pays tribute to food festival shooting victims

Seattle residents gathered Monday evening at a downtown fountain for a candlelight vigil honoring the three lives lost in Sunday’s shooting at the Bite of Seattle food festival. The victims were identified as Junior Cee Niko Semo, 19; Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, 44; and Ashley Whitehead, 56. A GoFundMe page for Villalba described him as "a devoted husband, loving begetter of three, and a loyal person who would bash thing for anyone". The page’s update read, "His kindness and generosity touched countless lives, and everyone who knew him remembers his gentle tone and willingness to assistance others". It also noted, "His abrupt passing has near his household heartbroken and facing an uncertain future". Family members said Whitehead was standing in line with her daughter, waiting for funnel cake, when gunshots rang out and ended her life. She died in hospital during surgery after exchanging "heartfelt 'I emotion you's with her eldest daughter", according to the GoFundMe page launched after her death. The page described Whitehead as "a person of life, creation and family" and added, "Family was everything to Ashley - she had precocious moved to the westbound seashore from Alabama to beryllium person to Zoie". At the vigil, attendees laid flowers, lit candles and observed a moment of silence. Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson declared, "This is not acceptable," and condemned weapon use in the community, adding, "No father, nary genitor should person to hide their child." Police said they believe the third deceased victim, Junior Cee Niko Semo, was involved in the gunfight. One suspect is in custody, while a third suspect remains at large. The shots fired Sunday near the Space Needle left three dead and four injured during what authorities described as a suspected gunfight. The Bite of Seattle festival, which draws roughly 350,000 attendees each year, concluded its three‑day run on Sunday. Washington Governor Bob Ferguson remarked in a social media post on Monday that the community was shocked and "struggling to marque consciousness of however an iconic assemblage solemnisation could extremity successful gunfire".