Security guard shot dead in drive-by at Seattle strip club, woman wounded

A security guard was killed and a woman injured in a drive-by shooting outside Kittens Cabaret in south Seattle early Sunday. The suspected getaway car was found burning nearby.

Drive-by shooting at south Seattle strip club leaves one dead, one hospitalised

A security guard was shot and killed and a woman inside the venue was wounded during a drive-by shooting outside Kittens Cabaret, a strip club in the 5800 block of Fourth Avenue South, just before 1 a.m. Sunday, abcnews4.com reports.

The victim, a 36-year-old man working security, was found dead at the scene. Mariah Cusack, 27, was struck in the leg by a bullet that penetrated the building while she was inside the club.

"It was kind of a nightmare scenario. Mariah called me about 1:00 AM, said, I've been shot," her mother Cara Cusack told reporters. "One bullet went through the building and hit Mariah in the knee."

Officers rendered aid to Cusack until Seattle Fire Department medics arrived. She was transported to Harborview Medical Center in serious condition.

Surveillance footage and other evidence indicated that a car drove into the club's parking lot and the driver fired multiple shots from inside the vehicle before fleeing the scene, investigators said.

Less than an hour later, police located the suspected vehicle fully engulfed in flames in the nearby Georgetown neighbourhood.

Marisa Figueroa, who owns Bloom Bistro and Grocery close to where the burning car was found, said the incident rattled the community. "The neighbours obviously were a bit shocked," she said, noting that people came into her shop trying to make sense of what had happened.

Figueroa told KOMO News that criminal activity regularly spills into Georgetown, and that residents have long dealt with shootings and break-ins. The discovery of the burning car has renewed calls from her and her neighbours for increased police patrols and faster response times.

"I know [Seattle police] are busy but there's violence down here, and there's only so much we can do as a community to help each other out," she said.

Detectives from the Seattle Police Department's Homicide Unit and Crime Scene Investigation unit responded Sunday to investigate the circumstances leading up to the shooting.

Anyone with information, including video footage or suspect details, is asked to contact the Seattle Police Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000.

Source: Google News GY — Georgetown