Despite a fight involving up to 40 people and “lots of guns,” which killed two men and injured four others in front of scores of bystanders, King County Sheriff’s deputies have not been able to make a single arrest related to the July 17 shooting in Lake Sammamish State Park.
King County Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart told The Reporter Monday the one man they had in custody was being held on an unrelated warrant, but would not elaborate on what that warrant was for.
The dead men have been identified as Justin Cunningham, 30, of South Seattle, and Yang Keovongphet, 33, of Kent.
What started out as a verbal disagreement between two groups soon escalated into a fist fight, and from there, degenerated into shooting. In Washington state parks like Lake Sammamish, it is legal to both consume alcohol and carry a semi-automatic handgun. Authorities have said alcohol may have played a role in the shootings.
At least 20 shots were fired within yards of families and children out at the park on the warm summer evening.
“There were lots of guns and lots of gunfire,” Urquhart told The Seattle Times on Sunday. “It boggles the mind how dangerous this was.”
Police and park rangers were soon at the scene, taking six men into custody. However if police were hoping the men would offer up the shooters, they would be disappointed. Despite hours of police questioning, five of the men were later released without charge, due to a lack of evidence. Other media agencies reported the men didn’t do much talking during their stay in the holding cell.
The police must now see what they can glean from the dozens of witnesses to the incident and the physical evidence left at the scene.
“There is an awful lot of evidence to go through,” Urquhart told The Reporter – 20 shell casings from four different guns, blood, witness statements, backgrounds, fingerprints, ricochets.
Police closed the park for most of Sunday while they conducted a thorough search for weapons and other evidence. Two guns were found in a car attempting to leave the scene. One gun was found beside one of the dead men, and another was later found discarded in a bush.
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