SEATTLE — A 26-year-old man was killed in a shooting on a light rail train in Seattle and a suspect who fled the scene remains at large, police said Monday.
Officers responded to a report of a man shot on the downtown light rail train around 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Seattle police said on its website.
Officers found the man at University Street Station, where he died despite life-saving measures, police said. The shooting occurred while the train was moving between the Pioneer Square and University Street stations.
The shooting suspect then fled and police say they have not identified the person. The name of the murdered man has not been released. Police said detectives are investigating what led to the shooting.
Trains were delayed for several hours after the shooting.
Over the past year, about six people have been injured in separate attacks involving knives, a hammer and a rock at light rail stations and on trains in the Seattle area.
“We take any attack very seriously because safety is our first priority, both for our passengers and our staff,” Sound Transit spokesman John Gallagher told the Seattle Times on Monday. “An incident like this is obviously very disturbing. We are in the early stages of trying to understand what happened.”
So far this year, Sound Transit has received 105 reports of abuse, a higher number than in previous years. Most of the reports involved verbal abuse of carriers, which is considered an assault under federal reporting standards, Gallagher said. Nearly 50 involved physical violence.
The numbers have also increased in recent months at least in part because there are more guards at transit stations to observe or report minor incidents. Gallagher said the number of attacks remains low compared to total monthly passenger numbers.
Sound Transit guards are now more visible after contracts were approved that saw four private security companies spend $250 million to hire up to 300 guards for the 2023-2026 period. Gallagher said the agency will also increase visible security in the coming weeks in light of Sunday’s killing.