Why did it take hours for a press conference on the Bite of Seattle shooting?

SEATTLE - Seattle leaders are facing criticism after waiting nearly five hours to hold a press conference following a mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle festival, leaving three dead and five injured.

Timeline:

Gunfire erupted on the northwest side of The Armory at the Seattle Center at around 6 p.m. Sunday. Seattle police posted a brief social media update at 6:30 p.m. confirming a shooting had occurred.

Officers promptly arrested a suspect and evacuated Seattle Center grounds as they searched for additional suspects and victims.

Why did it take hours for a press conference after the Bite of Seattle shooting?

Members of the media were initially told that a press conference would be held near the Space Needle around 9:45 p.m., prompting a swarm of reporters to gather outside the taped-off Seattle Center campus.

However, hours passed without any updates as unverified claims spread across social media. In a statement, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said that two suspects were in custody, when there in fact was only one suspect arrested.

At 10:30 p.m., Seattle Police Sergeant Brian Pritchard told waiting media that the briefing was delayed to wait for dignitaries to arrive.

The press conference finally began around 10:45 p.m., led by Seattle police Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis. Police Chief Shon Barnes was out of state attending the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives Conference, hosted in Dallas.

Assistant Chief Davis was joined by Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson and U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal, among others.

Mayor Katie Wilson defends delay

What they're saying:

Mayor Wilson stated that police briefed elected leaders at 9 p.m., after which she, Washington Gov. Ferguson, and Rep. Jayapal traveled to the scene. Wilson denied that any dignitary requested a delay to the briefing.

"Once it became clear that SPD was ready to brief the press, I, the governor, and Congresswoman Jayapal, made our way rapidly to Seattle Center so that we would be able to be there to share that information with you all," Wilson said.

In a press conference held at Seattle City Hall the following morning, Wilson addressed questions regarding the long delay, citing the difficulty of releasing news quickly during a crisis.

"My office put out a statement at 8:30, which again, included an initial inaccuracy, so, again, this speaks to the tension between providing information early and providing it accurately," said Wilson. "So we along with SPD were trying to manage that tension and we got information out to you all as soon as we possibly could."

Source: Police were told to wait

However, a source now tells FOX 13 Seattle that police were ready to hold a press conference hours before they did, but were told by the mayor's office to wait for dignitaries to arrive.

Wilson has repeatedly denied these claims, though the source claims Seattle PD was willing to do multiple briefings Sunday night, but were held to just doing one close to 11 p.m.

Investigation into shooting continues

The shooting killed three people: 56-year-old Ashley Whitehead, 44-year-old Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba and 19-year-old Junior Cee Niko Semo, who was identified as one of the shooters.

Five additional victims were also hospitalized, including a two-year-old boy. All injured victims were discharged from the hospital on Monday.

Officers recovered three handguns from the scene, including an untraceable 9mm "ghost gun" and a firearm equipped with a 40-round magazine.

Seattle police are continuing their investigation and are reviewing evidence to determine if a third shooter was involved.

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